Downtown Puts Its Best Foot Forward

217 West Federal Street,Youngstown OH 44503

24 June, 2021

Description

State Theatre Block Project Mural and New Recycling Bins Brighten and Clean Downtown as Youngstown Celebrates 225 Years! Youngstown OH – Youngstown CityScape is proud of its partnerships and the positive results they produce for the community. On Thursday, June 24 at 5:30 p.m., CityScape will host an event at Concept Studio celebrating the unveiling of the State Theatre Block Project (STBP) and announcing new Ohio Beverage Association (OhioBev) and American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America (ABFHA)-funded recycling and trash receptacles – projects rooted in partnerships and focusing on Federal Street. These projects were delayed by COVID-19 and the “shelter at home” orders that followed, but with a busy summer ahead in 2021, CityScape wants to highlight these Federal Street improvements. STBP is a true public art installation on West Federal Street, funded entirely by individual and corporate sponsors. The Project was conceived by Youngstown CityScape, Steel Town Studios artist Bob Barko Jr., property owner Greg Strollo/Strollo Architects, and Leadership Mahoning Valley, and made possible by generous community support! “The STBP partners collaborated to create a dynamic piece of community art where there was once a challenging site, vacant space, and a plain façade,” explained CityScape Executive Director Sharon Letson. “We started work in the fall of 2020. Once spring arrived, Bob completed finishing touches on the State Theatre façade, we got the fencing put up, and hung the mural.” The work is in two parts – a reimagining of the State Theatre façade, and a vinyl mural featuring a life-size version of local graphic artist Bob Barko Jr.’s 32-foot by 6-foot piece entitled “Here in Youngstown.” Limited edition commemorative prints featuring the new public art piece will be presented to project partners and sponsors at a later date. Complementing the public artwork, CityScape focused on brightening the downtown business district with the unveiling of new recycling and trash receptacles. In December 2018 and January 2019, Youngstown CityScape was awarded a $22,500 grant from the ABFHA and OhioBev to beautify downtown Youngstown and capture more recyclables. Founded in 1998, Youngstown CityScape is a non-profit community development organization dedicated to the revitalization of the greater downtown Youngstown area. Its mission is to focus on strengthening Youngstown’s revitalized urban core which connects downtown, the YSU campus and adjacent neighborhoods and gateways through strategic partnerships.