‘Wheels of Steel’ Opens May 14 at History Center
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — “Wheels of Steel: The Mahoning Valley’s Car Culture,” opens May 14 at the Tyler History Center, 325 W. Federal St., the Mahoning Valley Historical Society announced Tuesday.
The exhibit will run through Labor Day weekend.
A car show will be held in the parking lot next to the History Center and on Vindicator Square, from noon to 4 p.m. opening day.
Registration for the car show is $5 and includes one admission to the Tyler History Center. The car show will feature music, local celebrity choice awards, dash plaques for the first 100 vehicles, and food for sale prepared by the Recipes of Youngstown Facebook group.
Wheels of Steel displays what people have done with their motor vehicles since horseless carriages first appeared on the Valley’s roads in the late 1890s.
Throughout the 20th century, car enthusiasts here have modified and customized their vehicles. They have raced their automobiles at drag strips and on oval tracks and roads, Bill Lawson, executive director of the history society, notes.
Others have collected and restored older cars, showing them off at auto shows across the United States.
The exhibit will feature photographs, awards and memorabilia from local car collectors and enthusiasts, race teams and tracks, and car clubs that include the Asphalt Angels, Road Knights, Youngstown Rod & Custom, Steel Valley Corvette Club and Mahoning Valley Olde Car Club.
Two highlights will be Fred Rome’s hand-built 1960s T-bucket street rod and Lawless Industries Inc.’s custom-built electric drag bike.
Sponsor of Wheels of Steel is Snyder’s Antique Auto Parts. Car show sponsors are Norm and Cynthia Anderson and Martino Motorsports
The Tyler History Center is open from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and college students and $2 for children (ages 3 to 18).
For more information about the exhibit and car show call the history society at 330-743-2589 or visit the MVHS website.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
