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Akron Information
The city of Akron is the county seat of Summit County in the U.S. State of Ohio.
The city is located between Cleveland to the north and Canton to the south. It
is located in northeastern Ohio on the Cuyahoga River, approximately 60 miles
(100 km) west of the Pennsylvania border.
It was founded in 1825 near the Ohio & Erie Canal, and became a manufacturing
center owing to its location at a staircase of locks. The locks were needed due
to the higher elevation of the area, which gave rise to the name "Summit County"
as well as "Akron", which is a rough translation of "summit" into Greek
(Stewart, pg. 233). After the decline of heavy manufacturing, the city's
industry has since diversified into research, financial, and high tech sectors.
The Akron-Canton Regional Airport is one of many places near the city that is
named for both towns. While the U.S. Census Bureau still counts the two
metropolitan areas as separate metro areas, if combined, the total population of
the Akron-Canton area equals 1,101,894 people.
Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron in 1935. The city is home to The
University of Akron, the Akron Aeros Double A affiliate of the Cleveland
Indians, and the Firestone Country Club, at which the PGA TOUR's Bridgestone
Invitational is annually played. The Akron Quakers, of the International
Basketball League (2005-) will begin play in the 2007 season.
Much of Akron's early growth was because of its location at the "summit" of the
Ohio and Erie Canal (thus the name "Summit County") which at one time connected
Lake Erie and the Ohio River.
Akron started as a small village on the divide between the St. Lawrence and the
Mississippi. The village was a 43-block square with its main intersection at
Exchange and Main Streets and a north limit one block beyond State Street. It
was renamed South Akron when Cascade, an adjacent village north of State Street
and centered on Market and Howard Streets, changed its name to North Akron.
South Akron was built to serve people using the Ohio Canal. North Akron
developed around a construction project originally intended to provide increased
water power for industries. In 1836 the villages joined. The completion of the
Cross-cut Canal along Main Street in 1839 started Akron on its climb to
industrial importance. Coal, a major railroad, and manufacturing growth from the
Civil War, gave the City its next boost — its population jumped from 3,500 to
10,000 between 1860 and 1870.
Because of physical obstacles — the steep hill on West Market Street, the Little
Cuyahoga Valley, and the swamp south of the City – Akron grew to the east. This
encouraged the annexation of Spicertown, centered on Spicer and Exchange, and
then Middlebury, which was centered where the Arlington and Market Street
commercial area is now located.
Goodyear continues to manufacture racing and experimental tires, and Firestone’s
technical center remains in Akron. Because the rubber industry is still a major
employer in the region, Akron has suffered less than other cities of similar
size which have gone through Rust Belt decline, such as neighboring Youngstown.
The University of Akron is home to over 23,000 students, making it the fourth
largest public university in the state, and is a world leader in polymer
research. While Akron continues to predominantly serve commuter students, the
university has worked hard to shake off its image as a “commuter school." A $300
million dollar construction project saw the completion of nine new buildings,
fourteen renovated facilities, and a freshly landscaped campus. The University
also offers a combined B.S./M.D. program with the Northeastern Ohio Universities
College of Medicine.
The Akron Public Schools are currently going through an $800 million rebuilding
process that will take 15 years, remodeling some schools and entirely replacing
others. Some schools will be closing permanently due to a drop in city
population. The school board could not get a levy passed to pay for its portion
of the construction expense so it worked out an arrangement with the city of
Akron where the city will use the money from a new income tax to pay for
Community Learning Centers, which will serve as schools but be owned by the
city. Meanwhile the academic situation has improved recently as the city’s
schools have been moved from “Academic Watch” to “Continuous Improvement” by the
Ohio Department of Education.
Akron also has many private, parochial and charter schools. Akron Public Schools
made headlines in 2004 when a freshman student of Akron Digital Academy, the
district’s own online charter school, was not allowed to participate in
extracurricular activities, an event later covered and satirized by The Daily
Show. St. Vincent - St. Mary High School, just west of Akron’s downtown, also
made headlines when basketball star LeBron James was drafted by the Cleveland
Cavaliers first overall after his graduation in 2003.
Akron Public Schools has 2 performing arts schools. Miller South School for the
Visual and Performing Arts and Firestone High School. Miller South has grades
from 4-8. Most MS students move on to Firestone to continue in the Visual and
Performing Arts Program. They are the only two schools which teach VPA in Summit
County.
Akron has a diverse and colorful heritage of old restaurants and shopping
centers. Quaker Square, located in the heart of Akron’s downtown, is a mall made
out of the old Quaker Oats factory, which originally operated there. The oat
silos have been transformed into hotel rooms providing a unique experience to
the patron. The Trackside Grille, themed with railroads which run parallel to
the building, provides a narrative of Akron’s history.
Akron also supports independent retailers. West Point Market, a nationally-known
specialty food and wine store, offers Akron residents exceptional imported and
gourmet food items in addition to locally grown produce.
Highland Square, located in West Akron and anchored by the historic Highland
Theatre, is one of Akron's fastest-growing entertainment districts. Square
Records, a locally owned music shop supplies the area with unique selections.
Each summer Akron hosts the All American Soap Box Derby. Children from across
the country race their homemade, gravity-powered race cars down the steep hill
at Derby Downs in the shadow of the Lockheed Martin Airdock.