It was fifty years ago this week, on February 11, 1974, that fire broke out at Reed’s Arena, located at 25 Oak Hill, at the bottom of Oak Hill on the Southside. A motorist spotted the fire and called it in at 11:40 pm. As the fire department poured gallons of water on the roof, an intense fire, blue at times, consumed the building as a crowd of 200, including Mayor Hunter watched. At 12:07 am, the wall on the Marshall Street side collapsed. Only a smoking hulk was left with a loss valued at $300,000, including a large stock of skates. The building was never rebuilt.

The building was a one story brick and concrete block building built in the 1920’s and known at that time as the Oak Hill Auditorium. It was used for many years for high school, athletic, and civic events. Later McKenzie Muffler operated out of the building. There were a number of small businesses located around that part of Oak Hill. Somewhere in the 1950’s, it appears that it began to be used as a skating arena.. By the 1960’s or earlier James Reed began operating it as Reed’s Arena. The building was owned by McCullough Transfer at the time of the fire.

Through the 1960’s and early 1970’s it operated as a roller rink and gathering spot for Black youth on the lower Southside. Dances were held there and especially after the closure of the Elms Ballroom, it became a concert venue for some of the top R & B acts in the country. Otis Redding was booked there in early 1966. Among the groups booked there in the 1970’s were James Brown, Kool & The Gang, The Chilites, The O’Jays, Parliament-Funkadelic, and The Impressions.

Young Jerry Poindexter, who learned piano at his mother’s side in church, got his start performing in a talent competition at Reed’s Arena after friends pushed him on stage. He won the competition, and later on spent 24 years playing with James Brown.

The Arena also served as a venue for other community events including a closed circuit live showing of the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight in 1971 with the 1500 seats going for $12 apiece. The report on the fire also mentions a Platinum Show Lounge on the site, also operated by Reed.

One of the challenges is that there is relatively little documentation of the history of venues like this that played an important part in Youngstown’s cultural life, as local historian Sean Posey noted in this interview. I knew of Reed’s Arena and no doubt passed by it but have no memories of the place and never passed by. From what I can learn, James Reed was an entrepreneur who ran a place that served as a gathering place for skating, dances, concerts, and more for the youth of the Southside. At the time of the fire, Reed vowed to go on but I can find nothing of his subsequent career. The destruction of Reed’s Arena by fire marked the end of a building that was a center of activity on the lower Southside for fifty years.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!