Wick Park Historic District is a historic neighborhood on the north side of

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, with Wick Park as its centerpiece. During the first half of the 20th century, the residential district surrounding Wick Park included some of the city's most affluent neighborhoods. The district is "roughly bounded by 5th Ave, Park Ave, Elm St. and Broadway".

History

In the era of industrialization, Youngstown's wealthiest business leaders and professionals migrated away from the downtown to the wooded areas near the city's northern border. These semi-suburban neighborhoods were secluded from the noisy activity of the city's steel mills and retail businesses. Wick Avenue is sometimes described as Youngstown's version of Euclid Avenue (Cleveland's Millionaire's Row), or

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

: it was home to the community's most established families. Although some of these mansions have survived, few are currently used for residential purposes.

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

, whose campus is located south of Wick Park, purchased several of these homes and renovated them for administrative use. One campus-area mansion now holds the Arms Family Museum of Local History.Arms Family Museum of Local History
Accessed 2007-03-07

Surrounding features

Running through the western portion of the district is Fifth Avenue, which is lined with stately homes that were built by members of the area's elite. The most well-preserved of these homes are located along the upper reaches of the street, near Gypsy Lane, in the

North Heights North Heights is a neighborhood in Youngstown, Ohio, located on the city's upper North Side. The neighborhood's name derives from the fact that it sits at a higher elevation than the Wick Park District, Youngstown State University, and Downtown ...

neighborhood. On the western edge of Wick Park, on Fifth Avenue, stands the Neoclassical landmark

Stambaugh Auditorium Stambaugh Auditorium is located in Youngstown, Ohio in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Stambaugh Auditorium opened in 1926 through the generosity of Henry H. Stambaugh, one of the city's lead ...

, which is also listed on the

National Register The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The most prominent landmark located south of the Wick Park Historic District is the former Pollock estate, which sits along the main artery of Wick Avenue. Restored and expanded in the 1980s, the mansion was turned into an upscale hotel known as the Wick-Pollock Inn. Since the hotel's closure in the late 1990s, the university allowed the renovated structure to sit vacant. However, in February 2010, the YSU Board of Trustees voted to restore the home and designate it as the official residence of the university president. YSU students have led recent efforts to restore the historic sunken garden located behind the structure. The George J. Renner, Jr. House, a house listed individually on the National Register, is also included in the district.

Revitalization

Wick Park occupies a central portion of the district and is maintained by the Youngstown Department of Parks and Recreation. A recent effort to revitalize the park is being led by a coalition of local organizations including the City of Youngstown, Youngstown CityScape, Youngstown State University, the Wick Park Neighborhood Association and Treez Please

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References

{{Youngstown Neighborhoods in Youngstown, Ohio Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Mahoning County, Ohio Urban public parks Parks in Ohio Protected areas of Mahoning County, Ohio Tourist attractions in Youngstown, Ohio