I was downtown super early and saw deers on Wick Ave, it was just like in the “2 become 1” video

Downtown Struthers 7/12/26

Hey everyone,

Following up on the last post, A toast to the past about the 500+ vintage bottles uncovered in the walls of our 1920s North Side renovation right before closing.

When we sorted through the massive haul before closing, we made sure to leave the new homeowners the majority of it. There are hundreds of vintage liquor bottles and about a half dozen Ballantine cans, so the house keeps its history. For our finder's share, I kept a batch. We are going to save some of these to stow away in the crawlspace of our home for the future to find.

I grabbed a small box of that share to go through tonight, and I'll do a bit more as I go. I'm not attempting to clean the cans at this time; it is not my area of expertise and I wouldn't want to damage the metal or paint. I'm just wrapping them up to secure them, but I did take some time to look up the manufacturing marks and patent numbers on this batch to understand roughly when they were dropped into the cavity.

Using the May 19th, 1941 Youngstown Vindicator newspapers we found laid under the floorboards nearby as a historical anchor, this first handful of cans may tell a chronological story:

• Barbarossa Beer Cone-Tops: Brewed by Red Top Brewing Co. out of Cincinnati. These are the oldest in this box and roughly date between 1937 and 1949, which means they could have been dropped into the wall space before or right around the time those 1941 newspapers were laid down. They have the old "Internal Revenue Tax Paid" (IRTP) statement on the side, which was a legal requirement dropped in March 1950. Also, there is a "64A" factory stamp near the vertical seam, meaning the raw tinplate sheets were manufactured at the Continental Can Company Plant #64 in Chicago before being shipped to Ohio to be filled. One has an internal brewery lot code "3911" stamped on the bottom.
• Ballantine's Ale Flat-Tops: These have the "Keglined" trademark from the American Can Company, which was the plastic/wax lining innovation that allowed beer to be canned without tasting like a tin cup. By tracing the specific patent numbers stamped along the side seam (2,054,537 and 2,259,498), these roll right into the post-war years of 1947 to the mid-1950s. They definitely came along after the 1941 newspapers, proving someone was using this wall cavity as a drop-slot for a decade or more. They all have the triangular "church key" punch marks on the lids where they were cracked open.

They spent 70+ years in the damp dark, so the backs have a heavy patina of dirt and rust, but the display faces are still awesome.

Just a cool glimpse into what everyday life looked like around here back in the 40s and 50s.

Sources for the history nerds

• Patent 2,054,537: American Can Co. "Container" Patent (September 15, 1936) - This is the primary patent for the interior lining chemistry and structural seam coating that made "Keglined" cans commercially viable.
• Patent 2,259,498: American Can Co. "Method of Coating Containers" Patent (October 21, 1941) - This covered the specific manufacturing method of applying the protective lining over the side seams after the can body was formed.

1. Market Street Bridge, presumably early 1900s
2. Corner of Salt Springs Road & Elberen Street in Steelton (West Side) 1970s
3. Mahoning Avenue in 1913 during viaduct construction
4. Looking south down Market Street towards Uptown near corner of Market & Wayne. This business district has been completely wiped out
5. Electric trolley-bus on corner of Hudson & Hylda looking towards Indianola, near Uptown
6. Looking south down Gibson Street next to the wastewater plant on Poland Ave, 1938
7. Center Street Bridge at Poland Ave, looking south towards Shirley Road

The Pyatt Street Market was a popular produce market built in the 1920s in the South Side and lasted until sometime around the early 2000s. In the "after" photo above (2019), part of the north market hall is still there, but as of 2025, it's been demolished. All that remains is a picnic table and possibly still Kenny K's food truck on some days of the week. As seen in the other photos (shoutout to Sean Posey for taking them!) the market also had some popular businesses around it such as Down Under, a music venue, and Pyatt Street Diner. Sadly I can't find any pictures of the market or surrounding businesses from its heyday except this one, if anyone has any, please upload them!

I also recommend checking out this video that just came out if you want more information and a look inside one of the abandoned warehouses still standing at the market.

Taken with with Samsung Galaxy S23+ with Night mode , 3 second Exposure. In Mineral Ridge