Thomases Endowment Awards $50K to Stambaugh Renovation

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Stambaugh Auditorium received a $50,000 grant from the Thomases Family Endowment of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation to support the monumental staircase and facade restoration project. 

The goal of the project is to return the venue’s front staircase, facade and promenade to its original state.

“The Thomases Family Endowment has been supporting Stambaugh Auditorium since 2013, granting the organization $65,000 to date,” said Lisa Long, financial resource director for the federation, in a statement. “We are honored to support  this ambitious endeavor that will reinvigorate a Youngstown landmark.” 

The cost of the project is estimated at $5 million and will include razing and replacing the Fifth Avenue staircase and promenade, reconstructing retaining walls, cleaning the exterior facade of the building, adding dimensional exterior lighting to the entrances and facades and restoring all decorative metalwork at the grand entrance. 

Irwin Thomases loved his adopted community of Youngstown and wanted to ensure the community did not merely survive, but rather, thrive, Long said. In recognition for their support of the project, one of the monumental pillars will be named for the Thomases Family Endowment. 

“Stambaugh Auditorium is one of the true gems of the Mahoning Valley,” said Martha Thomases, the daughter of Irwin Thomases. “It serves music that soothes, inspires and excites all of our neighbors.” 

As a cultural and historic landmark in Youngstown since 1926, the mission of Stambaugh Auditorium is to present events for the enjoyment, entertainment and education of the people of Youngstown and its surrounding communities. 

“We are extremely grateful for the support of the Thomases Family Endowment in helping to support this vital project,” said JoAnn Stock, chief development officer at Stambaugh Auditorium. 

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.