Editor’s note: I like to sneak around places I shouldn’t, especially old buildings. Here is one of my latest, yet unfortunately infrequent, adventures.

A few months ago, Sara the girlfriend and I ventured over to her grandma’s childhood home and neighborhood to take pictures before it is bulldozed by Youngstown 2010, the former steel giant’s 21st century urban renewal plan.

Her grandma grew up on the city’s east side, actually in the southeastern corner in a neighborhood called Campbell (but pronounced “Camel” — don’t ask.) For those of you unfamiliar with Y-town geography, the city itself stretches farther north/south than east/west along the Mahoning River. Her grandma’s house was maybe two blocks away from the steel mills, so it looked something like this …

… 60 or 70 years ago. Most days the pollution wasn’t too bad, but if the wind blew the wrong way, women had to run out and grab their laundry so their linens wouldn’t turn black. (more…)