Legal Arts Building

The Legal Arts Building is a uniquely styled and closed commercial building in Ohio. It was constructed for $2 million by Stephen Baytos in 1965 to house legal offices for the Mahoning County Courthouse. Its location was the site of a Sears Roebuck department store.

The Legal Arts Building was built by Stephen Baytos ³ in 1965 at the cost of $2 million to house legal offices for the Mahoning County Courthouse and a restaurant. ² The five-story Legal Arts Building used Bethlehem Steel’s new hollow structural sections in the fabrication of the structure. ⁴

The Hub, a breakfast and lunch diner tenant on the first floor of the building, closed in early 2004. ^{2 5} That June, an acetylene tank exploded in a jewelry repair shop that caused damage to the first floor. After the incident and the closure of the diner, then-owners Commonwealth Real Estate Investors opted to force the eviction of all tenants. ¹

The dilapidated building was sold on March 13, 2012, to the NYO Property Group for $175,000 for a pending redevelopment. ^{1 2 5}

Sources

1. “‘Legal Arts Building Sold for $175,000.” Business Journal [Youngstown] 14 Mar. 2012: n.p. Web. 30 Dec. 2012. Article.
2. Skolnick, David. “Youngstown Legal Arts Building sells for $175,000.” Vindicator [Youngstown] 15 Mar. 2012: n.p. Web. 30 Dec. 2012. Article.
3. Peskin, Dale. “Great Expectations: City Within a City.” Vindicator [Youngstown] 16 Jul. 1978: 3. Print.
4. “Briefly.” Morning Call [Allentown], 30 Apr. 1965, p. 48.
5. Skolnick, David. “Legal Arts Building project downtown will have to wait until at least 2017.” Vindicator [Youngstown], 11 Dec. 2018.