Toni and Jim Amey of Canfield donated their collection of Idora Park artifacts to the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.
As reported by Guy D’Astolfo for Business Journal Daily, MVHS bought the Federal Street building in 2023 for $1.9 million. Fundraising has so far brought in $4.04 million towards the overall project, including $1 million from the Ohio state capital budget and the Strategic Community Investment Fund.
MVHS Executive Director Bill Lawson said designers are also collecting stories from people across the Mahoning Valley. “They’re talking to people in the community to learn what this place meant to them,” Lawson said. “We will want people to know what is going on inside here,” Lawson said. “It’s a museum with a great deal of cultural experience, and we want them to see it.”
With the roof and exterior work complete, Virginia-based design firm The Design Minds has been hired to plan the museum’s interior through the rest of the year. The first and second floors in the eastern section of the building will contain the main public exhibition spaces. The third floor will be used for archive storage, while the fourth floor will continue to be occupied by existing commercial tenants. These oral histories will help shape how the museum presents its collection. The building’s exterior will also include features inspired by Idora Park. Plans include architectural details designed to resemble the shape of a roller coaster, as well as restored neon signs and original park structures.
Preserving Youngstown’s cultural history
State Representative Lauren McNally, who helped secure state funding with state Senator Michael Rulli, said the project could also support the downtown economy. “A big part of my job is advocating for organizations that make the Mahoning Valley a better place to live, and a project like this makes that job easy,” McNally said. “This renovation is more than just a beautiful building. It will be a place where the community gets to tell its story and invest in its future. ” The historical society plans to begin interior construction once it reaches its remaining fundraising targets.
Work on the outside of a new $11.5 million museum dedicated to preserving the history of the Idora Park amusement complex has been completed in downtown Youngstown. The Mahoning Valley Historical Society (MVHS) said contractor Boak & Sons has finished replacing the roof of the four-storey building at 250 E. The couple spent 30 years travelling across the United States to save rides, roller coaster cars, signs and other parts of the park. Idora Park closed permanently in 1984 after a major fire. In 2024, the Ameys formally gave their entire collection to the historical society, making it the foundation of the planned museum.
Federal St., along with major repairs to its windows and exterior masonry. The work clears the way for the next stage of the project, which will focus on designing the museum’s interior. The building will eventually house tens of thousands of items collected over three decades by Canfield residents Jim and Toni Amey.