DOWNTOWN: Horse Shoe, Sunrise, DAV, Village Cafe, Speakeasy, Modern Methods, Funky Skunk, Jacked, West & Main, CharBenay’s, ITAM 29, Elks Club, Black & Tan

NOTH END: Buena Vista Cafe, Old Snaps, New Snaps, UAL, Slovak Club, Ohio Inn, Hall Avenue Inn, Callahan’s, Paris Cafe, Kiefer’s, Maplewood Tavern, Holiday Bar, Little Wing, Hannah’s Gateway

THE FLATS: Coleman’s, Golden Stallion

EAST SIDE: Lefty & Jim’s, Belvedere, Tin Pan Alley, Cafe 422, Cafe 22, Alberini’s, Up a Creek, Alouette, Havana House, Army Navy Canteen, Enzo’s, Grant’s Lounge, The Living Room, Triangle Inn, Bailey’s, Leo’s, Club Leon, Salvatore’s, Trumbull Country Club, the Rig, Robert’s Lounge, Barrel33

WEST SIDE: Crystal Inn, Peace Pub

So these are Warren’s neighborhoods. What’s missing from the typical legacy city of the midwest are neighborhoods like Detroit’s Greektown, Poletown, and Corktown; Cleveland’s Slovak Village and Little Italy; Columbus’ German Village or Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine. In Warren, like those bigger cities, we had all those ethnic groups in numbers, but not numbers large enough that any group could wall themselves into their own neighborhood. People had no choice but to live amongst one another. The exception being Black people, nearly all of whom lived within defined areas on the south side of town.

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[Editor note: Warren Story, so far, was all written in 2020. Changes since then are not reflected in this chapter.]

Another physical characteristic isn’t a neighborhood, but it has had a big impact on the history and growth of the city, and may play an even bigger role in its future. The Mahoning River is today a lovely, pastoral waterway that flows through the city largely unseen. It’s now a clean and living river, as opposed to the industrial sewer it was for many years, when the steel mills were active and the average daily temperature of the water was more than 90 degrees. These days people fish and kayak in it without fear.

We had steel mills in Warren because we had the river, from which the mills syphoned thousands of gallons of water per day to cool machinery and red hot steel, which then got returned to the river untreated.

In the ‘50s and ‘60s residents rarely saw it except as it passed through downtown, or when spring floods would bring it up into the city parks. Most of its banks had been overgrown with invasive species that prevented human access. That was no problem, because the idea of swimming, fishing, or even canoeing in the Mahoning would have been a joke. The river’s ever-changing, unnatural, color pallet may have been an inspiration for 1970’s disco attire.

The Mahoning ultimately ends up flowing into the Ohio River. There were nine low-head dams along its 113 mile length. These had been constructed in order to pool water for the use mentioned above. But they serve no purpose today, other than to block recreational use and the final stages of the cleansing process that has been underway for several decades. Today people fish and kayak on the Mahoning without fear, but the continued existence of the dams means there are no express lanes. If you want to go from Warren to, even, Youngstown, the river way is not an option.

Somebody should do something about that.

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Until 1910 most people in Warren lived in one of these middle sections of the city, but between 1910 and 1970 the city’s population grew six-fold from about 11,000 to over 60,000. This, of course, created high demand for housing. The neighborhoods in the northeastern of our six squares is the most populous. A friend calls it “the land of milk and honey” to reflect its relative affluence.

THE EAST SIDE

The northeast has an entertaining mix of architectural styles: craftsman, midcentury modern, prairie, colonial, Tudor. You’ll find it all here. The lawns are well maintained with many mature trees. (There are mature trees everywhere in Warren.) There are a handful of small parks and a few small shopping areas. Comfortable front porches from which to enjoy a pleasant evening are the rule.

The extreme eastern area is taken up by the Trumbull Country Club, a 1915 brick and stone gathering place for the new country club class. Until maybe 40 years ago Jews and Italians weren’t welcome, but today anyone who can afford the relatively modest dues is welcome. There is a collar a few blocks deep which surrounds the club that contains larger, more expensive homes; not the McMansions one finds out in the burbs; rather older, more modest, but substantial, homes built by the industrialists, doctors and lawyers in the early and mid decades of the 20th century.

Market Street (US82) divides Warren’s north and south sides. Crossing Market to the southeastern section of Warren looks very much the same for a mile or so, and we continue to see an interesting mix of styles and well maintained neighborhoods. Crossing Youngstown Road (US422) into the most southerly section of the east side, the neighborhoods become less affluent. The homes have less brick and more frame. There are more frequent gaps where houses have been demolished, more vacant houses, and more public housing.

THE WEST SIDE

As we slide west we pass over the largely empty Republic Steel acreage into Warren’s southwest side, which is also its most economically challenged. Here there are even more empty lots where houses once stood, and many of those still standing are badly in need of repair and unlikely to ever be economically viable candidates for renovation.

In many parts of Warren you can buy a rough house for $20,000, put $40,000 into it, and have yourself a very nice place for $60,000. Unfortunately, there is a good chance the final product won’t bring $60,000 on the open market. So these properties sit and rot.

In the heart of the southwest side are adjacent vacant lots that aggregate to nearly 100 acres, which once hosted important community institutions. Western Reserve High School was opened in 1967, but by 1990 the population boom that dictated the need for a second city high school had turned into a bust, and the school was closed and demolished.

Westlawn was a 350 unit development of what was supposed to be temporary worker housing constructed during WWII. By the end of the 20th century it had become dangerously run down and was demolished. Westlawn and Western Reserve form a continuous vacant landscape that looks like someone dropped the family farm down in the middle of a city neighborhood.

The northwest quadrant of Warren, the 1st Ward, contains some of Warren’s newest neighborhoods; lots of mid-century ranch homes and split-levels, mixed with older colonials and an eclectic mix of other styles. It was among the last to bloom in Warren’s growth spurt of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, and among the first to deflate beginning in the ‘80’s. Most of the northwest side remains a well-maintained area because of a strong effort by residents to take care of vacant properties and to patrol their streets in the evenings keeping an eye on unwelcome activities.

Commercial activities have declined, as well, but people come from all over the area for Cockeye BBQ, and its attached creamery selling home made ice cream; the husband, wife and son owners are on a mission to bring the old west side vitality back.

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Warren Is a slightly elongated rectangle, a little longer on the east-west axis. Picture it cut into six, roughly equal sections. Downtown, the Perkins Neighborhood, the Garden District, and the North End comprise the north-middle section. The middle section to the south of downtown is today a no man’s land, but it was once very different.

Just over the city line was the sprawling Republic Steel works, with a basic oxygen blast furnace, a coke plant, 12 hot rollers run by a 3000 hp steam engine, and much more on an 1100 acre burning urn of churning funk. Republic, opened in 1912, once employing over 7,000 people, and made Warren sunsets dramatic, red-soaked, spectaculars for decades. It also made it a mistake to hang laundry or keep your windows open on certain days depending on wind direction. Most of Republic and it successor corporations are long gone, and their millworks cut up for scrap and sold. Today it is a slightly scary, vast emptiness punctuated by a few remaining industrial structures, orphans of the past. Only the coke plant continues to operate.

Between the mill and downtown is the area once known as The Flats. It was largely wiped off the map by urban renewal in the 1960s, but it had a hell of a history. Going well back into the 19th century it was the first stop for many immigrant groups looking for inexpensive, close-in housing. By the mid-20th century residents were mostly African-American. It was called the flats for reasons you can probably guess, which made this part of town highly susceptible to flooding of the Mahoning which rolled through the area.

In addition to the residential housing, The Flats also hosted a dynamic group of illegal and semi-legal enterprises, beginning with Coleman’s and the Golden Stallion, the two large bars on Main Street just outside the gates to the Republic blast furnace. The Stallion had the best fried chicken in town, in addition to the requisite refreshments, but Colmans was just a hard core shot and beer joint for guys who didn’t want to drive any farther at the end of their shift.

For many years there was an unofficial police acceptance that prostitution and gambling would be tolerated in the Flats, especially along Pine Avenue, the main drag between downtown and the mill. From the turn of the century, the Flats hosted a variety of establishments selling legal liquor, and aspired to be the premier entertainment venue for, not just Warren, but for the entire area between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. And the people came from all over to drink and dance to big bands and big names like Perry Como in the years leading up to World War II.

But in addition to serving anyone who enjoyed a good steak, a stiff drink, and some live music, there were always bars tucked away where gays and lesbians could gather in relative peace, and “black & tan” bars where inter-racial couples could safely meet.

As Main Street reached downtown the retail offerings became less alcohol related. There were shoe makers, and bakeries, and restaurants like the New Way (There’s no way like the New Way) which remained a popular and inexpensive dining spot when the bars closed, into the late 1960s.

And there was gambling everywhere. My own great uncles — four of them — owned as many as 12 bars at one time or another, but they always said they only owned bars because they needed a place to put their slot machines.

These businesses brought more than customers; they attracted increasing levels of organized crime and Warren became a contested territory between crime families in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Mob killings were a regular occurrence for four decades into the mid-70’s.

A lot of “nice people” would never have dreamed of visiting the flats — day or night. It wasn’t for everyone but it made Warren a city, not a puffed up small town. It played a big role in forming the city’s character; it gave us a soul and a sense of humor. It made us tough and resilient. It prepared us for what was to come.

But all of this is a ghost story today. The Flats were torn down in the 1960s, and replaced with not much. There are a few auto repair shops, industrial service companies, and the sanitation department; the average citizen goes there never.

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We’ll head north from Courthouse Square on Mahoning Avenue, what was once “Millionaire’s Row,” where Warren’s early 19th century industrialists built their homes. Very few have been razed over the years. Most of those that remain are well maintained, owner-occupied, beautiful examples of period architecture. The few exceptions made way for the new library, or were turned into offices for the Historical Society and a woman’s suffrage museum. The street is well shaded with mature trees. The west side of the street fronts the river, but between it and Mahoning Avenue are Warren’s two largest parks, Packard and Perkins, and it’s loveliest, the Women’s Park.

Next to the Women’s Park is City Hall, an 1871 Italianate brick mansion, built by Henry Perkins, a wealthy banker and businessman, and donated to the city in 1934. It has served as City Hall since then, and is widely agreed to be haunted since Henry’s suicide.

The blocks sandwiching Millionaire’s Row are known as the Historic Perkins Homestead Neighborhood, and contain dozens of mostly large, late 19th century homes; many of them on the National Registry of Historic Places. These impressive 150 year-old homes are also mostly owner-occupied and in pretty good to very nice condition.

To the east of this neighborhood, and just north of downtown, is the Garden District. It’s about 30 square blocks of mostly early 20th Century single family homes. These properties are a mix of owner-occupied and rentals, and vary more in their condition. There are some really nice homes, but scattered among them are some rather sad examples of the maintenance arts. It’s a funky, city neighborhood. You can buy drugs here and a strolling hooker or two are not out of the ordinary. But there are families, and young people who appreciate the old architecture, fine woodwork, the front porches, the sidewalks, the ability to walk into town or up to the high school.

North of these central city neighborhoods is the North End. The houses are still pre-WWII, but a little smaller. They were once filled with people who worked in the factories on that end of town; the big ones being the GE Ohio light bulb factory that dated to late 19th century and only closed for good in 2014, and the first Packard Electric plant on Dana Street, closed since 2000.

At the city limits are the remains of Copperweld Steel, a 423 acre property that once employed 4000 to operate its two, 65 ton electric arc furnaces and assorted equipment for the making of high quality alloy steel.

Just east of Copperweld, the Packard Electric division of General Motors operated four giant factories making wiring and associated automotive products on North River Road. At its peak Packard employed more than 12,000 people around Warren.

The North End is plenty gritty, but surprisingly stable considering that almost all the jobs that made this such a dynamic area back in the day are long gone. The North End also always had the best collection of neighborhood bars in Warren; many are gone but we are thankful to still have the Buena Vista, the UAL, the Slovak Club, the Ohio Inn, and the Paris Cafe to patronize. Visit any one of them and you’re sure to find at least a few neighborhood folks having a beer, or a shot, or both. If the Tribe, the Cavs, the Browns, or the Buckeyes are on TV, a seat at the bar will be tough to come by. If it is a football Friday night and Harding is at home, you may not be able to get into the parking lot.

All but one of these examples serve food that people go to extremes to experience. For example, the BV (Buena Vista) serves Uncle Nick’s Greek style chicken. It’s some people’s first stop when returning to town. At the Ohio Inn it’s the fish. The exception is the Paris, known only for its low prices, large fishbowls, and the world’s smallest men’s room.

I grew up on the fringe of the North End, so my pal Gaga and I christened our neighborhood the “Near North End.” We all lived in the shadow of one manufacturing facility or another. It seemed perfectly normal to us, but I can still see the look on my kid’s faces the first time I showed them the old neighborhood. “You really lived here, dad?”

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The river flows along the west side of Courthouse Square. On the riverbank, Monument Park, with its array of statues and monuments dedicated to soldiers, sailors, police and fire personnel, sits. The park honors the sons and daughters of Warren who gave their lives for their community or their country. The Civil War monument is the most impressive of them.

The northern border of the Square is High Street, occupied largely by public buildings of varying attractiveness, from the brutalist county administration building, sheriff’s office and jail, to the tiny, and charming, 1903 Carnegie Library, which now serves as the Law Library.

The eastern and southern borders form the commercial center of the central city along Park Avenue and Market Street. Roughly 20 buildings, mostly of three or four stories, form the right angle. Most were built in the mid to late 19th century of stone or brick. Their varying heights and ornamental facades make for an interesting streetscape. The corner buildings are a little taller than those in mid-block, giving the impression of watchtowers in a medieval city wall. There’s an onion dome, a copula, a balcony and plenty of decorative icing on most of these structures. These blocks blend harmoniously with the castle-like courthouse they face.

You won’t find the department stores and higher end specialty shops that drew suburbanites downtown in decades past, but you won’t find many empty store fronts, either. When one business closes, another moves in. Downtown is an active place, just active in different ways than in the old days.

Along Park Avenue there is an artists’ cooperative, a jewelry store, an art museum and gift shop, a couple lawyers, a small hotel, an underground nightclub, a steakhouse, and coffee shop. Many of these buildings have apartments and condos on the upper floors, and there is a small, but active, downtown community. The Park and Market corner is anchored by Howard’s, an urban men’s wear store that’s been there 60 plus years.

The Market Street block is equally active. A beautifully ornate former department store building, converted to offices, holds the corner. There are a couple more lawyers, Tom Duma’s jewelry store, (the only place to buy a Rolex between Cleveland and Pittsburgh), and the BRITE incubator for alternative energy and battery storage technology in the middle of the block brings a steady stream of out of town visitors.

There is a lovingly restored 1860 store and warehouse that has been turned into several beautiful apartments; it was renamed the Defiance Building by its owner to memorialize his attitude towards the city’s politicians. Next door, a beautifully renovated five & dime is now owned and occupied by the Raymond John Wean Foundation, which provides financial support for many local community initiatives.

Another former, old-fashion retail space is the home of All American Cards and Comics, whose owner lives above. The block rounds out with West & Main, a hip restaurant and bar, a custom tee shirt shop, an upscale tattoo parlor and art gallery, and a six story office building where the district’s Congressman keeps an office, and where a video production company has its studio and offices. The building’s owner, who owns several buildings on the Square, keeps an apartment and office on an upper floor.

The view of downtown can be enjoyed from a comfortable bench on Courthouse Square, or in a stroll along the river. At Christmas the square is lit up and mystical looking.

It’s not a big downtown, but it extends a few blocks beyond the Square. There’s a wine bar overlooking the river, and Modern Methods Brewery in Dave Grohl Alley, behind the Market Street buildings. A few steps from the Square is the Saratoga, the 100+ year old restaurant, next to the Funky Skunk bar. Another block east on Market to the beautifully restored, 1923 Robins Theater, the Horse Shoe Bar, a Warren fixture since before WWII, and another block to the Sunrise Inn, purveyor of hospitality, Briar Hill style pizza, and 50 other menu items since 1929. Around the corner on High Street is the Mocha House, a three-meal-a-day, Warrenized version of a Queens New York diner. The western edge of downtown is anchored by the Hog Dog Shoppe, which has been serving its unique chili dogs for over sixty years.

Warren is a city of neighborhoods. Downtown is one and from there we will take a quick tour of some of the others.

[Next: The North End]

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In the winter of 2020, while house-bound by the trifecta effects of a Northeast Ohio winter, recovery from a body part replacement, and the emergence of Covid, and having first rewatched all six seasons of The West Wing, I still had a lot of hours in the day to fill.

This led me to write an untitled, 18,000 word description of Warren, Ohio, the city in which I live now, and where I spent most of the first 22 years of my life. Originally, I thought this would be the set up for a contemporary narrative about Warren, which, being fundamentally lazy, I never wrote.

But I might still write it someday, and I thought by posting the prelude I would improve the odds. So, here is Warren:

This is the story of a place. Warren, Ohio. Demographers call Warren a “legacy” city; meaning, its glory days are long past, but it’s still hanging on. Once a small city version of Cleveland or Detroit, Warren continues to mirror those larger cities in their attempts to find their post industrial place in the world.

But more on that later. Let’s start with the basics.

If you count all the prisoners in the Trumbull County Corrections Institution (and the Census Department does), Warren still comes in at just over 40,000 souls. It’s in Trumbull County 15 miles from the Pennsylvania border. To the north is Ashtabula County and 65 miles to Lake Erie. To the south lies Mahoning County and 15 miles to its capital, Youngstown. From there it’s another 65 miles to Pittsburgh to the southeast, or 45 miles due south to East Liverpool and the Ohio River.

From Courthouse Square in Warren, to Public Square in Cleveland, it’s 56 miles traveling northwest to the lake. Akron and Canton are just over 50 miles due west. Columbus is 166 miles to the southwest. Columbus is like another state altogether. No one in Warren can relate to Columbus except as the city where the Ohio State Buckeyes play their games.

Warren is the largest city in Trumbull County Ohio, which is the only perfect square of Ohio’s 88 counties. It’s 25 miles on each side. Inside those 625 square miles are 25 townships, each of which is five miles square. Warren occupies about 16 square miles of area just a little southwest of the center of the county, just south of the unfortunately-named Mosquito Lake, the largest manmade lake in Ohio.

There are a few other small cities, of fewer than 10,000 people, in the county — Niles, Girard, Kinsman — but Warren has always been the dominant city and the county seat.

Think of the county as a pastoral sea; Warren is at the tip of an urban isthmus that runs southeast through Niles to Youngstown and beyond through New Castle, PA to Pittsburgh. The isthmus is industrial, gritty, and ethnic. It follows the path of the Mahoning River. There was once a steel mill every few miles along the Mahoning, who’s path is known as the Steel Valley.

The surrounding sea that is the county is suburban, exurban, and rural, interspersed with some mostly light industrial and distribution enterprises. Noticeable population centers are mostly villages grown into small towns.

IT’S A CITY

Warren is the only real city in the county. It’s not very big, but it has all the characteristics of a city, not a small town or a village.

Like all cities, Warren has neighborhoods, and the neighborhoods have sidewalks, and the sidewalks lead to the homes of a diverse and ever changing cultural stew. Warren also has a real downtown, built around a traditional town square, of about 2] acres. In the middle of Courthouse Square sits an impressive 1895, Romanesque, sandstone courthouse that many feel is the most impressive in Ohio. Clarance Darrow argued many cases there. The west side of the Square borders the Mahoning River, which bisects the city into east and west sides.

[Next: the neighborhoods]