Robins Theatre
166 E. Market Street,
Warren,
OH
44481
166 E. Market Street,
Warren,
OH
44481
5 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 40 of 40 comments
Lost Memory: Thanks for the photos of the Robin, then and now as I see the marquee and vertical ROBINS sign are gone! Somehow I’m not surprised, but saddened none the less!
The Robins Theatre hopefully will be restored as it is connected with the Packard name and deserves to get some TLC. A trip this summer to Youngstown will include a trip to nearby Warren, now!
Lost Memory: Thanks for the modern photo of the Robins. BTW, is anyone attending the Harry Warner Silent Film Festival in New Castle and Slippery Rock PA later this month? The website is http://academics.sru.edu/warner/index.htm
Don’t misunderstand me in re. Robins Theater. I like most others here would like to see the theater saved, but with private funds.
This morning GM, the area’s largest employer announced that it would be cutting it’s third shift, Delphi (Warren) is cutting jobs as well as pay, and Forum Health (Liberty Township, Trumbull County) may close, all impacting on the valley’s economy.
With all this bad news, it’s unreasonable to expect the tax payers to dig into their pockets to save the Robins. We must set our priorities.
What about establishing a private foundation for the preservation of historic theaters, seeking out corporate support? Surely there are businessmen in the corporate world who would be willing to join in such an effort.
The Warner Theater in Youngstown was saved because of a single family, and out of that efort, we have the beautiful Powers Auditorium that is home to the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and is a success story.
The Stambaugh Auditorium is another success story thanks to the private sector. Like Powers, it is a magnificant theater srving the Mahoning Valley.
My only concern is where can we find the private investors to put up the money to restore the theater?
Here in Youngstown people have wanted to restore the Paramount and State theaters but could not get the money from the private sector, and with both Delphi and GM on shakey grounds, folks here are simply not placing restorations on their must do list.
To make matters worse, there is a distinct possability that we will be losing a third major employer if Forum Health closes the North Side Hospital.
The Robins should be saved, but to do it, we must have help from outside the valley.
As I see it, there must be a national foundation set up for the purpose of saving historic theaters, with the expertese to assess the feasability of doing the job.
wolfgirl500: “Apparently it is so deteriorated that it would be cheaper to build a new theater than restore the Robins.” That may be true, but the historical building would be lost forever!
Lost Memory: Nice photo of the Robins right ‘under our noses’! This one needs to be restored as it has a Warner Brothers connection!
What a one-sided account of the situation. Once again the writers make the project that they apparently want to get funding seem better than the theater.
It’s funny that they want to use part of the money that was put aside for the theater to conduct another feasibility study. One was done on this site and then nothing happened, so the same thing might happen now at Mosquito Lake.
I’d like to see some photos here too.
And I’d love to see some photos of this theatre, too.
Lost Memory: I only got through the first sentence/paragraph of the Robins Theater funds article that you posted on April 1 and couldn’t go read anymore. I wish it was an April Fool’s joke and that the article is incorrect!
The status of this theatre is the same as the last 30+ years, sitting there dying. It is a shame to see this beauty going to waste. As a child I remember the beauty of the marble, the winding stairway to the balcony, but the city of Warren has been hit hard over the years and can’t afford to cleanup a privately owned building like this. If there are any pictures out there I would love to see them.
Does anyone know the current status of this theatre? Warren is the hometown of the Packard automobile built by the Packard family who lived in Warren PA and also Lakewood NY on Chautauqua Lake.
There was an article to that effect in the Vindicator on the 30th. I’ve posted a link to it here, along with links to a few other articles about the potential renovation that have appeared lately. I think the newspaper staff has something against the idea of restoring this theater, based on the comments in these articles. Personally, I think any historic restoration is a good thing and might go a long way toward revitalizing downtown Warren as it has in Cleveland and Akron. If you care about the fate of this historic landmark I encourage you to write letters to the editor of the Vindicator responding to these articles and editorial. We need to remember that the Mayor is not the end-all of this discussion. He only has one voice and opinion, and if the public feels strongly that the theater should be reopened it might be. The benefits of urban renewal are well documented.
Consultant recommends reopening Robins Theater
Published: Thursday, September 29, 2005
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
View link
Mayor rejects restoration of theater
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
Friday, September 30, 2005
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
View link
Warren mayor’s stance on Robins Theater is sensible
Vindy.com Opinion “How We See It"
Published: Tuesday, October 4, 2005
View link
According to today’s Vindicator, the City of Warren has refused to fund the restoration of the Robins Theater and is recommending that it be torn down.
Apparently it is so deteriorated that it would be cheaper to build a new theater than restore the Robins.
Do you know the names of the theaters that they operated in Youngstown? At one point there were no fewer than 12 downtown theaters (between 1908 and 1920) Also do you have any pictures of the Youngstown theaters that your family operated? I’m building a scrap book of downtown theaters and have ads for all of the theaters that were downtown?