Wrecking ball awaits Peck House, former church on Wick Avenue
Staff report
Youngstown
The historic Peck House on the Youngstown State University campus is being demolished.
YSU trustees voted last June to raze the building, located on Wick Avenue.
Gene Grilli, vice president for finance and administration, sent a memo last week throughout campus saying the building was being deconstructed.
The Peck House is a 7,660-square-foot, single-family home in the Wick Avenue Historic District and was built in 1887 for Dr. George and Emeline Peck. It’s one of six mansions remaining on Wick.
A committee comprised on campus and community representatives met for several months and tried to find a use for the building.
But no uses that were economically feasible were identified.
“Meanwhile, the administration has recommended and the Board of Trustees has accepted a plan to also demolish Pilgrim Collegiate Church on the corner of Wick and Lincoln avenues,” Grilli’s memo says. “A timeline for the demolition has not been set.”
Trustees voted to tear down the church last March.
The same committee that sought uses for the Peck House also did so for the church with the same result.
YSU bought the church in 2007 to prevent the property from being developed commercially.
Comments
The Peck House was...
You guys are a little late on this one...
Demolition of the historic Peck-Schoff House:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy2Mbo...
Tear 'em down...all the mansions will soon be gone.
Thankfully they are not spending millions of our dollars "renovating" these old useless houses. Im tired of hearing how they are historical. No, they are not historical. They are just old.
How many historic areas does Youngstown now have? Once again, old does not equal historical.
YSU can do what it wants with properties it owns, but it seems pretty obvious there weren't any real plans to do anything with these buildings other than tear them down. As I understand it, the utilities were cut to Pilgrim Collegiate soon after YSU bought the property. The building began to deteriorate and YSU just had to wait until it reached the point where they could say it wasn't worth saving. At one time organizations such as Protestant Campus Ministry and the Fellowship for Christian Athletes had offices in the building. Was there nobody who could have used it again? I have never heard of a University that doesn't have groups complaining about lack of space. If YSU needs more parking that's fine, but I wish they would just say so instead of all this back door nonsense. The church also has two very large and beautiful Tiffany windows in the sanctuary which I hope will be saved.