Sights and Scenes: Akron
A virtual visit through the downtown streets of Ohio's fifth-largest city: Akron
The former Firestone Tire & Rubber Company headquarters just south of downtown Akron. Firestone was founded in Akron in 1900. Acquired by Japanese-based Bridgestone in 1988, the headquarters was relocated to downtown Nashville in 2017.
Founded by Simon Perkins and Paul Williams along the Little Cuyahoga River in 1825, Akron is the fifth-largest city in Ohio and the county seat of Summit County.
Located 40 miles south of downtown Cleveland, Akron is known as the “Rubber Capital of the World,” for its number of major rubber and tire manufacturing facilities. Still home to the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron was once the nation’s fastest-growing city when Goodyear, B.F. Goodrich, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and General Tire & Rubber Company all had operations in town.
Peaking in 1960 with 290,351 residents, Akron is a 62-square mile city with a population of 190,469.
Downtown Akron
Akron Energy Systems at 226 Opportunity Parkway.
The 401 Lofts at the intersection of S Main and W Cedar Streets.
Looking north on S Main Street.
Looking north on S Main Street.
The intersection of S Main and W Exchange Streets.
Canal Park, the home of the Akron RubberDucks.
The headquarters of Country Pure Foods.
The Akron Civic Theatre was originally the Loew’s Theatre when it was built in 1929.
The 303-foot PNC Center (1967) is Akron’s second tallest building.
The 331-foot Huntington Tower (1931) is Akron’s tallest building.
The 280-foot First Energy Building (1976) is Akron’s third tallest building.
The Akron Public Schools administration building.
The Beech Street Trailhead along the Ohio & Erie Canal Tow Path Trail.
The Ohio & Erie Canal Tow Path Trail is a 90-mile trail system that attracts more than 2.5 million annual users.
The Howard Street District is a segregation era Black commercial district that was largely destroyed by the construction of the Akron Inner Belt freeway.
The Wesley Temple AME Zion Church at Martin Luther King Boulevard and N Prospect Street.
The Akron Post Office and Federal Building.
The Akron Art Museum.
Traveling west on East Market Street.