Picture source: Mahoning Matters

The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor serves the community in a variety of ways, through preservation, education, and entertainment. Through this digital exhibit, we are displaying the numerous field trips students of the American Architectural History partook in and what they learned throughout the fall 2021 semester. The class will no longer be taught after the semester at YSU.

Dr. Thomas Leary (left) and Chris Klingemier (right)

Picture by Brooke Bobovnyik

The YSU American Architectural History field-based course examines the evolution of buildings by closely looking at stylistic characteristics and interior arrangements. Through this, a better understanding on how buildings changed over time is achieved.

In the early 1800s, as more people settled into Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, structures were developed that drew upon New England, German, and other influences. Prior to the flourishing of the iron and steel industries with the coming of the canal and the discovery of mineral ridge iron and Brier Hill coal, industries like grain mills and even a clock boom contributed to building growth. Some of these structures remain in the area. Architecture experts Chris Klingemier and Dr. Thomas Leary lead students and other interested parties on visits to some of these structures.