Editing Akron, Ohio (section)

==Arts and culture==
{{Main|Culture of Akron, Ohio}}
[[File:Stan Hywett Front.JPG|thumb|right|[[Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens]] entrance]]
Akron is home to [[E. J. Thomas Hall]], one of three Akron performance halls. Regular acts include the [[Akron Symphony Orchestra]], Tuesday Musical Club, and Children's Concert Society. World-class performances events include Broadway musicals, ballets, comedies, lectures, entertainers, attracting 400,000 visitors annually. The hall seats 2,955, divided among three tiers. To maintain top-notch acoustic sound, the counter-weighted ceiling is adjustable, altering the physical dimensions of the hall. Located downtown is the [[Akron Civic Theatre]], which opened in 1929 as the Loew's Theater. This atmospheric-style theater was designed by John Eberson and built by Marcus Loew. The theater contains many Moorish features including arches and decorative tiles. It features elaborate wood carvings, alabaster statuary, and European antiques. The theater seats 5,000. Behind it on the canal is the Lock 3 Park [[amphitheater]], which annually host the [[First Night]] in Akron. The [[Akron Art Museum]] also downtown, features art produced since 1850 along with national and international exhibitions.<ref name="Museum Collection: On View Now"/> It opened in 1922 as the Akron Art Institute, in the basement of the [[Akron Public Library]]. It moved to its current location at the renovated 1899 post office building in 1981. In 2007, the museum more than tripled in size with the addition of the John S. and James L. Knight Building, which received the 2005 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum<ref name="Akron Art Museum"/> while still under construction.<ref name="Architecture"/><ref name="Museum History"/>

Built between 1912 and 1915 for [[Frank Seiberling|Frank A. Sieberling]], [[Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens]] is the seventh-largest [[Largest Historic Homes in the United States|historic house in the United States]].

Located within the Sand Run Metro Park, the {{convert|104|acre|km2}} F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm features a visitor center, hiking trails, three ponds, gardens, and an array of special programs throughout the year. The Akron Police Museum displays mementos including items from [[Pretty Boy Floyd]], whose gang frequented the city.<ref name="Arresting displays refreshed for public" /><ref name="The Life and Death of Pretty Boy Floyd" />

Akron is home to the American Marble and Toy Museum.<ref name="americantoymarbles1" />

===Architecture===
{{See also|Category:Buildings and structures in Akron, Ohio}}
[[File:Jablonski Sculpture.jpg|thumb|right|Jablonski Sculpture, a gift of the Zimmite Corporation in tribute to Nola M. Guzzetta's humanitarian interest in providing for the blind a vision of artistic and architectural design through touch<ref name="Nolan N. Guzzetta Miniature Sculpture, (sculpture)"/>]]
[[File:Quaker Oats factory, Akron.jpg|thumb|[[Quaker Square]], 1979]]
As a result of multiple towns merging, and industry boom, Akron's architecture is diverse.

Originally a canal town, the city is divided into two parts by the [[Ohio and Erie Canal]], with downtown being centered on it. Along the locks, the city has a path paved with rubber.

Akron was awarded with the [[World's most livable cities|City Livability Award]] in 2008 for its efforts to co-purpose new school buildings as community learning centers. In 2009, the [[National Arbor Day Foundation]] designated Akron as a [[Tree City USA]] for the 14th time.<ref name="Ci.akron.oh.us">{{cite press release|title=Akron Named Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation|date=April 17, 2009|publisher=City of Akron|url=http://ci.akron.oh.us/News_Releases/2009/0417.htm|access-date=June 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927151804/http://ci.akron.oh.us/News_Releases/2009/0417.htm|archive-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref>

Many of the city's government and civic buildings, including City Hall and the [[Summit County Courthouse (Ohio)|Summit County Courthouse]] are from pre-World War Two, but the [[Akron-Summit County Public Library]], and [[John S. Knight Center]] are considerably newer. The library originally opened in 1969, but reopened as a greatly expanded facility in 2004. The Knight Center opened in 1994.

The First Methodist Episcopal Church first used the [[Akron Plan]] in 1872. The plan later gained popularity, being used in many [[Congregational church|Congregationalist]], [[Baptists|Baptist]], and [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] church buildings.<ref name="nrhpinv_ny"/><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=eYNjS56yx-0C&pg=PA269 ''When Church Became Theatre: The Transformation of Evangelical Architecture and Worship in Nineteenth-Century America''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102221215/https://books.google.com/books?id=eYNjS56yx-0C&pg=PA269&dq=John+Fletcher+Hurst+- |date=January 2, 2016 }}. Jeanne Halgren Kilde. [[Oxford University Press]], 2005. {{ISBN|0-19-517972-2}}. p.185</ref>

[[File:Akron Civic Theatre and Knight Stage.jpg|thumb|The facade of the [[Akron Civic Theatre]] and Knight Stage.]]
The city is home to a historic 1920s atmospheric [[movie palace]], the [[Akron Civic Theatre]]. One of the building's features is a starry sky with clouds that drift over it when the lights are dimmed.

Completed in 1931, Akron's tallest building, the [[Huntington Tower]], features the [[art deco]] style and is covered in [[glazed architectural terra-cotta]].<ref name="FirstMerit Restoration">FirstMerit Restoration, {{cite web|url=http://www.westerngroup.com/servicesAndProjects/structures/officeCommercial.jspx?fileName%3D1120493926173-106-04-01.jpg%26id%3D245 |title=FirstMerit Tower |access-date=September 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060311053532/http://www.westerngroup.com/servicesAndProjects/structures/officeCommercial.jspx?fileName=1120493926173-106-04-01.jpg&id=245 |archive-date=March 11, 2006 }}</ref> Standing {{convert|330|ft|m}} tall, it is built on top of the Hamilton Building, completed in 1900 in the [[neo-Gothic]] style.{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} Near the turn of the millennium the tower was given a $2.5 million facelift, including a $1.8 million restoration of the tower's terra-cotta, brick, and limestone.<ref name="FirstMerit Restoration"/> The top of the building has a television broadcast tower formerly used by WAKR-TV (now [[WVPX-TV]]) and [[WAKR-AM]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Scraping the Sky|work=[[Beacon Journal]]|publisher=[[Knight-Ridder]]|page=Beacon Magazine 13|date=March 14, 1999}}</ref> The antenna reaches {{convert|134.7|m|ft}}.{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} Located on the [[University of Akron]] campus, the [[Goodyear Polymer Center]] consists of glass twin towers connected by walkways. The university also formerly used the old [[Quaker Oats]] factory as a dormitory, including using it as a quarantine center during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. For many years it had been a shopping center called [[Quaker Square]]. There had also been a hotel there.

The [[Akron Art Museum]] commissioned [[Coop Himmelblau]] to design an expansion in 2007. The new building connects to the old building and is divided into three parts known as the "Crystal",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.akronartmuseum.org/photos/details.php?catid=40&unid=511 |title=Akron Art Museum – Building the Akron Art Museum |publisher=Akronartmuseum.org |access-date=September 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120085430/http://akronartmuseum.org/photos/details.php?catid=40&unid=511 |archive-date=January 20, 2013  }}</ref> the "Gallery Box",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.akronartmuseum.org/photos/details.php?catid=40&unid=502 |title=Akron Art Museum – Building the Akron Art Museum |publisher=Akronartmuseum.org |access-date=September 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120085436/http://akronartmuseum.org/photos/details.php?catid=40&unid=502 |archive-date=January 20, 2013  }}</ref> and the "Roof Cloud".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.akronartmuseum.org/photos/details.php?catid=40&unid=526 |title=Akron Art Museum – Building the Akron Art Museum |publisher=Akronartmuseum.org |access-date=September 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120085423/http://akronartmuseum.org/photos/details.php?catid=40&unid=526 |archive-date=January 20, 2013  }}</ref>

The contrasting neighborhoods of Goodyear Heights and Firestone Park were built during the rubber industry to house workers and their families. Both are communities filled with houses based on mail-order plans.

===Tourism===
{{See also|National Register of Historic Places listings in Akron, Ohio}}
[[File:Akron Art Museum May 2024.jpg|thumb|[[Akron Art Museum]]]]
There are numerous attractions and points of interest in the Akron area. Opened in 1922, the [[Akron Art Museum]] has a 20,000-square-foot building and a collection of art produced since 1850. [[Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens]] is the estate of F.A. Seiberling, founder of [[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company]]. The manor hosts various attractions and public events throughout the year. In the heart of downtown, the Akron Civic Theatre has provided the community with a venue for entertainment and live performances for over eighty years. [[Lock 3, Erie Canal|Lock 3]], a historic [[Ohio and Erie Canal]]way landmark, has been transformed into an entertainment amphitheater that hosts festivals, concerts, and community events throughout the year. The [[Akron Zoo]] is located just outside downtown, and was an initial gift of property from the city's founding family. In Highland Square, Akron hosts a convergence of art, music, and community annually called Art in the Square, a festival featuring local artists and musicians.<ref name="Lock 3 Akron, Ohio Concerts"/>

National events hosted annually in Akron cover a wide variety of hobbies and interests. The PGA World Golf Championships travel to Akron each year for the [[Bridgestone Invitational]] at [[Firestone Country Club]]. [[All-American Soap Box Derby|The All-American Soap Box Derby]] is a youth racing program which has its World Championship finals at Derby Downs. In mid July, the [[Hamburger|National Hamburger Festival]] consists of different vendors serving original recipe [[hamburgers]] and has a Miss Hamburger contest.<ref name="Hamburger festivals, special events have participants flipping"/> Lock 3 Park annually hosts the [[First Night]] Akron celebration on New Year's Eve.<ref name="First Night Akron"/> The park also annually hosts the Italian Festival and the "Rib, White & Blue" food festival in July.<ref name="Lock 3 Akron, Ohio Concerts"/> [[Alcoholics Anonymous|Founders Day]] is celebrated annually because of the founding of [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] within the city. The [[Dr. Robert Smith House]] is located in Akron.<ref name="This Founders' Day marks A.A. milestones"/><ref name="Akron, Ohio - Birthplace of Alcoholics Anonymous"/>

===Cuisine===
{{See also|History of Quaker Oats}}
Several residents of Akron have played a role in defining American cuisine. [[Ferdinand Schumacher]] created the first American [[oatmeal]] and is a pioneer of [[breakfast cereal]].<ref name="F. Schumacher Milling Company"/> He also founded the Empire Barley Mill and [[German Mills American Oatmeal Company]],<ref name="The Ohio Academy of Science"/> which would later merge several times with other companies, with the result being the [[Quaker Oats Company]].<ref name="Ferdinand Schumacher - Ohio History Central - A product of the Ohio Historical Society2"/> The Menches Brothers, are the disputed inventors of the [[waffle]] [[ice cream cone]],<ref name="Ohio Curiosities: Quirky Characters ... - Google Books"/> [[caramel corn]],<ref name="Ohio Curiosities: Quirky Characters ... - Google Books"/> and [[hamburger]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/news_releases/2006/0407b.htm |title=City of Akron: News Releases 2006: America's 1st National Hamburger Festival |publisher=Ci.akron.oh.us |date=April 7, 2006 |access-date=January 21, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070808002209/http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/News_Releases/2006/0407b.htm |archive-date=August 8, 2007 }}</ref> [[Strickland's Frozen Custard]] is located in Akron.