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Idora Park Ballroom Fire Coverage
Flames destroy Idora Park ballroom
March 5, 2001
Youngstown, Ohio, March 5th - Once the place to go in the Mahoning Valley to see some of the country’s best entertainers, the ballroom at Idora Park in Youngstown in now no more.
"The ballroom not only had history as a valuable landmark, but more importantly could have been an economic generator for jobs." —Richard Scarsella, Idora Park Institute
A fire engulfed one of Idora Park’s last standing structures around 10:00 a.m. Monday morning. The amusement park’s ballroom burnt to the ground before firefighters could extinguish the blaze. Besides extinguishing the flames, fire crews also fought to keep the fire from spreading to one of the park’s rollercoasters, the Jack Rabbit, which is located nearby. Much of Idora Park was destroyed by a fire in 1984. Since that time, the Youngstown Historical Society has been trying to save as much of the amusement park as possible, including the ballroom. The structure was placed on the National List of Historic Places in 1993.