YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Museums and music halls in the Mahoning Valley boast historic architecture, beautiful gardens and opulent amenities.
It is no wonder they top the list for brides, nonprofits, businesses and others to rent for special occasions.
Hosting a banquet among the local artifacts of the Tyler History Center, a speakeasy event with the vintage vehicles at the National Packard Museum or a wedding reception amid the paintings of the Butler Institute of American Art may enhance a special event.
And the variety of rooms, a garden and grand staircase at Stambaugh Auditorium, which soon will celebrate 100 years, may accommodate small or grand events.
Venues that double for other functions appreciate visitors, and their staffs seek ways to attract more people and generate more revenue to support their nonprofit futures.
Facility rental revenue figures significantly into the budgets. For instance, at Stambaugh, event related rentals are 45% of the budget and pre-pandemic it was as high as 65%.
“So when people utilize our space, utilize our in-house services, they are helping to support a nonprofit organization,” says Dani Dier, business manager at Stambaugh. “Those services help us be able to fulfill our mission of being a space in the community and helps ensure that this will be around for another 100 years at the very least.”
National Packard Museum
Rentals account for 3% of the total operating budget at the National Packard Museum in Warren, according to Mary Ann Porinchak, executive director. A few years ago it was 10% and she hopes to see it return to that level.
Events have included a speakeasy gathering, a circus-themed bar mitzvah and a first and 90th birthday party. Retirement parties and car and motorcycle clubs have been known to rent the museum, depending on what is on display. Museum staff adapt, creating more interactive exhibits to accommodate visitors.
Rentals range from using the area for a party to booking the entire museum for the day.
“We’re pretty flexible,” Porinchak says. “That’s probably one of the best things about this place is its flexibility. The other thing is there’s no stairs.”
The shiny Packard automobiles become the backdrop for wedding photos, a place for guests to explore between wedding and reception or the ice breaker to start a conversation for businesspeople meeting in the facility, Porinchak says.
“Our primary goal is to preserve and protect those cars,” she says. “So, we don’t ever allow anything that might be harmful to them, but most often we can accommodate people pretty well.”
While there is no catering kitchen, the museum features a warming oven, a small kitchenette, counters and a commercial sink for prepping food brought in by caterers.
Stambaugh Auditorium
Many have attended a concert or dance recital in the opulence of Stambaugh Auditorium throughout the years, but the facility also features plenty of other rental spaces including the Jeanne D. Tyler Grand Ballroom, the more intimate Anne Christman Memorial Hall and the formal garden.
Weddings, conferences, conventions, nonprofit parties and corporate events all have been held there. Fewer than 100 to as many as 1,000 people can attend, depending on the room and configuration.
Dier says Stambaugh melds history with modern amenities like an in-house production team for lights, sound, video live streaming, teleconference meetings and more.
“Coming here and utilizing this space, it’s an old space, but it’s a grand space,” Dier says. “And even though it is 100 years old, we have kept up with technology, so you’re not just walking into just candlelight.”
The grand ballroom renovation was finished about a decade ago and since then the stone stairs and facade facing Fifth Avenue were restored after years of damage from the elements. Events like banquets and performances have been staged there and in the garden, which are both accessible for people with disabilities.
Stambaugh’s staff works with outside production companies to supplement services they do not offer. Large rooms can be divided with pipe and drape and Stambaugh has both its own catering team and five other local caterers the staff works with regularly.
When it comes to price, Dier says each space has its own pricing and there are different rates. Stambaugh offers discounts to nonprofits that host their events there. And five years after Covid, she believes more events are returning to facilities like Stambaugh.
Tyler History Center
Bill Lawson, executive director of the Tyler History Center, says event revenue is about 2% of the total operating budget for the historical society, although the history center itself is about 5.5%.
Like other places, the center saw a significant drop due to the pandemic.
“Prior to March of 2020, we were doing sometimes 40-plus events a year at the Tyler History Center and also at the Arms Family Museum,” Lawson says, adding they are in the process of rebuilding those numbers.
The center offers discounts for nonprofits and different rates for weekday events versus weekends. Rentals can include the Thomas Ballroom, where 140 people can be seated around tables or 275 theater-style. There is also a gallery on the third floor for smaller events. The Arms Family Museum offers a unique setting, especially during the holiday season, Lawson notes.
“We would love to talk to anybody that’s looking for unique, beautiful and of course very historic surroundings,” Lawson says.
Stephanie Godsey, the museum’s administrative assistant, handles the rentals, including weddings, receptions, ceremonies, graduation parties, business and corporate events, birthday dinners, baby and bridal showers. Godsey provides the list of outside approved caterers and the logistics of space, chairs and tables and security if alcohol is being served.
“I think just in general, it’s a historical building,” Godsey says of what draws people there. “Because it’s a historical landmark in Youngstown, people are drawn to it.”
The Butler
Art lovers find themselves at home at the Butler.
Susan Carfano, director’s assistant at the Butler, notes how beautiful the museum can be at night.
“It’s a beautiful venue,” Carfano says. “It takes on a whole different atmosphere with the lights and a nice soft glow, because the lights are on the artworks.”
Some people have a connection to the Butler where they took art classes or met, but Carfano says others just want a beautiful location in the Youngstown area where their families still live, even if the bride and groom have moved away.
“Everybody has a different reason and people just don’t want to go to an empty room somewhere,” Carfano says. “They want to have a memorable location, and nothing is more beautiful in Youngstown.”
Weddings at the Butler North, a former sanctuary known as the Great Hall, cost $800. A wedding reception or dinner in the Butler is a $10,000 tax-deductible donation to the museum.
Carfano explains the price tag includes the tables, chairs and security. AVI Food Systems handles the catering for events at the Butler, but renters can bring their own alcohol, florist and music for the event.
Although the $10,000 can make it cost prohibitive for some, Carfano explains as a museum, it cannot be used for events constantly.
“It’s a nice donation to help the Butler remain free for the public,” she says.
Pictured at top: Classic cars tell a story at the Packard Museum.