Steel Valley and the Rust Belt

Youngstown Sheet & Tube and Viaduct

When it came to picking a more serious look at Ohio this video/musical statement about the changes in Youngstown floated up to the top of the list and watching it again hit me in the gut even harder than the first time.  The city has a rich and interesting industrial past but it's had to move on.  It sits on the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania in the Appalachian county of Mahoning.  It is part of what was called Steel Valley and is now part of what is called the Rust Belt.  Mike Eakin’s choices in this video are excellent – from the gritty, haunting music to the fade-ins contrasting old and new scenes in this deindustrialized area – to his final graffiti message – Don’t Forget.

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This video was posted in March 2010.  Please take the time to visit Mike's page and read his comment on the video.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZvJ1EUlM-o

Source: YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZvJ1EUlM-o 
Youngstown, Ohio, Rise and Fall of Steel Valley, Linkin Park, Mike Eakin
Photo of postcard: Wikipedia commons