YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A parking lot adjacent to the Tyler History Center in downtown Youngstown is now owned by Mahoning Valley Historical Society (MVHS).

The parking was owned by Mary Coyne Investments and was purchased by MVHS with money from the organization’s late benefactor Jeanne Deibel Tyler.

MVHS Executive Director Bill Lawson said the parking lot will be used by visitors and employees, and the site could be used for future expansion.

“We are now working on plans for improvements in the nearer term to better connect the lot to Tyler History Center,” Lawson said.

The newly purchased parking lot is open for daily and monthly public parking for a fee.

Lawson also said they want to draw attention to a site next to the lot that no longer exists called Spring Common, which was downtown’s other public square at the intersection of Front Street, West Federal Street, Fifth Avenue and Mahoning Avenue and the Spring Common Bridge, which was removed during construction of the current bridge in the 1940s.

Outdoor exhibit panels highlight the history and change in the west end of downtown.