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Youngstown, Ohio / United States

Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the county seat of Mahoning County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Youngstown had a city proper population of 66,982, making it the 9th largest city in Ohio. Youngstown is the mainstay of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, with a population of 565,773; this makes it the 105th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, and the 7th-largest in Ohio.Youngstown is on the Mahoning River, approximately 65 miles southeast of Cleveland and 61 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Despite having its own media market, Youngstown is often included in commercial and cultural depictions of both Northeast Ohio as well as the Greater Pittsburgh Region due to these proximities. Youngstown is also the midway between New York City and Chicago, Illinois via Interstate 80. The city was named for John Young, an early settler from Whitestown, New York, who established the community's first sawmill and gristmill. Youngstown is a midwestern city, falling within a region of America often referred to as the Rust Belt. Traditionally known as a center of steel production, Youngstown was forced to redefine itself when the U.S. steel industry fell into decline in the 1970s, leaving communities throughout the region without major industry. The city has experienced a decline of over 60% of its population since 1959. Youngstown falls within the Appalachian Ohio region, among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Downtown Youngstown has seen tremendous change within the last several years, becoming a center of culture, entertainment and innovation. It is now home to bars, restaurants, and the recently completed Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater. Youngstown's first new downtown hotel since 1974—the DoubleTree by Hilton—opened in 2018 in the historic Stambaugh Building with first floor commercial space including a restaurant. Several businesses, such as Turning Technologies, an education technology company, are headquartered in Downtown Youngstown. In 2012, Forbes ranked Youngstown, Ohio 4th among the best cities in the U.S. for raising a family. The article included the city's schools, current low crime, cost-of-living, and property rates in its decision.

Butler Institute of American Art

Youngstown, Ohio / United States

The Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum has been operating pro bono since 1919. Dedicated in 1919, the original structure is a McKim, Mead and White architectural masterpiece listed on the National Register of Historic Places .Among the most celebrated works in the Butler's permanent collection is Winslow Homer's Snap the Whip, a famed tribute to the era of the one-room schoolhouse. Winslow; however, painted two versions of Snap the Whip, with the other version residing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The two paintings differ, with the Butler's version of Snap the Whip having mountains in the background, while the Metropolitan's does not. In 2007, the museum acquired the Norman Rockwell painting Lincoln the Railsplitter for $1.6 million. The previous owner of the 84.5 by 44.5 inch painting was businessman and former presidential candidate Ross Perot. Other aspects of the nation's past are captured in a unique collection of paintings featuring southwestern Native Americans, which were once part of Joseph Butler's personal collection. Additional highlights include an iconic depiction of George Washington's wedding, William Gropper's celebrated Youngstown Strike, an interpretation of the area's violent 1937 Little Steel Strike, and Albert Bierstadt's The Oregon Trail, 1869. Meanwhile, the gallery of modern art features a striking, life-sized painting by Alfred Leslie titled, Americans: Youngstown, Ohio, which depicts personalities connected with the Butler as they appeared in the 1970s. The museum also holds a significant collection of works by the Abstract Expressionist painter Robert Motherwell. In recent years, the Butler has expanded significantly. A 19,000-square-foot south wing, the Beecher Center, was constructed in conjunction with Youngstown State University in 2000 with a focus of uniting technology and art. Two years later, the 3,400-square-foot Andrews Pavilion, featuring a sculpture atrium, gift shop, and café, was added to the rear of the facility. In 2006, the Butler purchased the neighboring First Christian Church facility and converted it into an education and performing arts center. In October 2007, the museum had its first auction in fifteen years. Pieces of art were donated from around the country and up to 125 art enthusiasts and museum supporters gathered to view and buy the pieces of art. All of the money raised from the auction went to the hiring of scholars to produce an updated catalog of all the pieces of art in the museum and its cost of publication.