The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown is presenting Sacred Landmarks: A Photographic Tribute to Youngstown’s Churches and Immigrant Heritage by local photographer Lisa Frederick. The exhibition runs through April 25, 2026, at the museum’s 524 Wick Ave. location. A meet-the-artist reception was held March 1.

Frederick’s photographs document 12 historic Youngstown churches that served the immigrant communities who built the Mahoning Valley’s steel industry. The exhibition includes ten standing structures and two that no longer exist: El Emmanuel Congregation Temple, built in 1912 and demolished in 2019, and Welsh Congregational Temple, built in 1861 and demolished in 2022. Featured churches include the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Church, Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church, Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church, Hungarian Presbyterian Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church, and Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, among others. Frederick noted that only two of the twelve are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a gap she has described as inadequate given their architectural and cultural significance.

Frederick said she is developing a second volume of the project and intends to pursue a partnership with Youngstown State University’s history department to seek National Register designations for the churches documented in the exhibition. The Butler Institute of American Art is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Source: The Vindicator