Posted September 11, 200618 yr Beautiful day. Happy to take my day off and get some pictures of Akron. Here you go: Start with a landmark The underconstruction Northside Lofts http://www.northsidelofts.com And right across the street... On to the under construction Akron Art Museum Expansion: John S. Knight Convention Center The grain towers turned hotel Crowne Plaza And the saddest part for me personally. Quaker Square used to be brimming with activity. A lot of shops, people overflowing from the adjacent hotel. Now, it is a shell of its former self. Only a few shops and restaurants remain open. I miss the good old days... The University of Akron Polymer building with its groovy new sculpture in front. Looks a bit like frozen blue garbage bags, but I like it. EJ Thomas Hall My favorite rain gutters in Akron... National Inventor's Hall of Fame aka Inventure Place Canal Park-Kick Ass minor league ball park The Lime Spider, formerly Mr. Bilbo's. Location of my first (legal) drink. Fond memories... :drunk: Just like it. When you see the blue line spray painted all over the roads in Akron, it's to mark the path of the marathon, which ends here, next to Canal Park. The canal traveling under the Akron Civic Lock 3 park and event center Thank God Rocktoberfest is coming back!!! The Akron Civic. If you have the opportunity, see a show here. Beautiful as any other theater around! Akron's tallest: The recently built Downtown Branch Library Akron News, well kind of the less well formed co-joined twin of Cleveland's Channel 3 I love open rooftop parking decks! Maiden Lane is a little street flanked by art galleries, coffee houses and some above average eating. Parking deck staircase. Some shots from across the Innerbelt on W. Market Kind of a conspicuous water fountain... A little antiquing up W. Market This is a picture of the underside of the canopy at a Citgo on Market. Why do I show this to you? Because at night, with all of these lights on, it is absolutely blinding. :wink2: There's no good reason to put that many lights on that canopy other than to vaporize some hapless moth that might happen underneath. But I digress... That pesky blue marathon line again. Highland Square: No I do not know who Don Austin is and Yes, the shirt reads "Akron Rules! ...and your town sucks" Highland Square redevelopment underway-I believe this is the new library branch, or maybe a market. Not really sure. Highland Square is loosely bordered by Portage Path Rd. Some density Brick side streets are everywhere. Home of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W. and Dr. Bob-just another house on the street. And finally, the retro Swensons-Galley Boys all around! (it's a sandwich) I'll see if I can get out again and get a few more shots. Cheers!
September 12, 200618 yr Wow! Great set of pics - and a lot of memories from when I used to live in Hudson (and spend time in Akron). The Northside lofts are looking fantastic, as is the art museum. And you can't go wrong with Swensons - athletic, handsome, shorts-wearing young men bounding across the parking lot, leaning into your window and after you order your sandwich - they ask "would you like butter on your bun?" :lol: clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
September 12, 200618 yr holy greatest hits of akron batman. awesome. too bad about quaker square, but the rest makes up for it. you are torturing us w/ a swensons pic.
September 12, 200618 yr Yeah! Ain't nothing like Swenson's up here. I could sure go for a milkshake and like 12 cheeseburgers. MMMMMMmmmm I used to goto Shaker Square all the time when I was little. What happened?
September 12, 200618 yr I encourage PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE post more Akron photos, anyone. It is the least-represented major city on this forum. Great shots. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 12, 200618 yr Sad thing is, I have lots of Akron pics that I've never posted. Shame on me. The Northside Lofts are being built near the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad station and the developer is marketing that -- transit-oriented development? Another railroad tidbit -- the area next to the railroad car shown inside Quaker Square was the temporary Amtrak station from 1990-1994, after Amtrak service was rerouted through Akron in 1990. They had a waiting room set up in that space, and the ticket office was in a wood-paneled room next to it. Despite the afterthought-quality facilities, the middle of the night trains, and freight train-induced delays, ridership out of Akron wasn't too bad. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 12, 200618 yr And you can't go wrong with Swensons - athletic, handsome, shorts-wearing young men bounding across the parking lot, leaning into your window and after you order your sandwich - they ask "would you like butter on your bun?" :lol: That's true enough. My cup of in car dining tea were the girls over at the A&W off of Tallmadge circle. It's been too long ladies... God, the older I get, I feel like more of a leach.
September 12, 200618 yr Great pics! Mr Bilbos used to be one of my favorite hang outs, nice to see that the space is still active. Back then it was the only thing downtown open after business hours. It has changed a lot down there for the better.
September 12, 200618 yr It's been quite a while since I've been to Akron; back then, there was a serious dearth of good restaurants, and the place was pretty much dead. It looks like it's coming along nicely, now. I saw a film at the Civic. It was my first time in a theatre with an atmospheric ceiling. I can't even remember what film I saw, but I'll never forget looking up at the clouds and stars. It was the dead of winter, but I felt as if I were in an open courtyard on a summer night. There are few theatres with elegance to match the Civic.
September 12, 200618 yr Wow!!! That hotel that reused the old silos (or whatever) is fan-tas-tic!!! What a great adaptive reuse example. You make Akron look really good...well done!!
September 12, 200618 yr Yep, those are former grain/oats silos. That's what I'd like to see done to the silos in the Flats near the Center Street bridge. I've always liked Akron. It's got quite a bit going for it even though it's only half the population of Metro Columbus (but probably has as many ex-West Virginians!). "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 13, 200618 yr Great shots of Akron! This place has to be a competitor for the "most underrated city" title. I actually stayed in that Quaker Square hotel, as part of a trip to Youngstown (I used Akron as a base to go to Youngstown)...my experience was similar to Robs...Akron seemed pretty dead..but that was in the early or mid 90s, over 10 years ago. But then I drove through there last December on my way to Cleveland and was more impressed as the place seemed busier than I recalled. Based on that trip and these pix Akron sure is worth a second look from me. Finding time for a road trip up there is tough, though. It would be fun to give Akron the same pix/analyses treatment that I give Dayton...particularly some shots of the "company town" neighborhoods around Goodyear and Firestone. And Id like to check out that Maiden Lane place.
September 13, 200618 yr ^Yeah, there's a healthy diversity to the Akron 'hoods. Ghetto to mansions and everything in between. I'll make a few more trips around town and try to provide a sense of the range. I joke with a friend of mine that Akron is just a minor city and Cleveland is where it's really at (I like to provoke these arguments-I really like Akron too). He's got some weird pent up rage toward Cleveland and an ynabiding love of Akron. He contends Akron doesn't have the ambition of being a large city, as Cleveland was in the 50's and is striving to return to that prosperity. For him, Akron's ambitions are to be a strong, cohesive small city. I think he's right. Given the geographic make-up and the history, Akron seems happy to focus it's attention more inward and let Cleveland be the ambitious bigger city. My friend thinks this is Akron's strength and Cleveland's weakness. To me, they're both strengths and I feel the two cities really complement themselves and NEO. I'm sure one could make a larger point about the benefits of regionalism right about here, but I'm sure that's pretty self-evident by now. Anyhow, I'll see if I can't represent a little for Akron, even though my heart's in Cleveland.
September 13, 200618 yr And finally, the retro Swensons-Galley Boys all around! (it's a sandwich) Great shots CornerCurve. Now you've got me starvin for a Galley Boy and some fried mushrooms (delish!!!).
September 13, 200618 yr Lots of good Money shots of Akron. BTW, the building you "just like" is the YMCA building in Akron also known as Canal Place. Akron has an obvious downtown center but there are also several distant neighborhoods where 5-10 story buildings pop up. Whether its Goodyear hq or Wallhaven with the URW building or Highland Square apartments. The greatest density and diversity is Highland Square but its not annoying density. There are no issues finding parking spots for the most part. The thing thats hard to capture in pictures is how close to National Park and Metro Parks one is from downtown Akron or how close one is to the Portage Lakes where definitely a lot of people seem to live or enjoy boating. Think Firestone CC for the people that were watching Tiger win the Bridgestone open.
September 14, 200618 yr The downtown Y is Canal Square (see [http://www.akronymca.com/locations/canalsquare//url] ) but "Canal Place" is just down the street at the former BF Goodrich world HQ that is now home to hundreds of smaller companies, artists, restaurants, etc. Just like a lot of new "Towpath" named companies, the "Canal" places are getting numerous and a little confusing... all for the good, I guess since it only helps identify the National Heritage Corridor (or "canalway") that is helping revitalize a large part of the downtown and surrounding area. Even Highland Square has benefited from the Canalway federal money though it's not located directly on the canal. I live on the Portage Lakes and believe it is one of the most hidden secrets of Ohio (the lakes were also part of the canal system). A lot of newer neighbors have moved here from the Cleveland area after friends have let them in on the secret. Minutes from highways, all the neighborhood amenities, good roads and schools, and great scenery. Just don't tell anyone..... :-D
September 14, 200618 yr So Highland Square is within the city limits? Yes, it's maybe a four or five minute drive down W. Market to Main St, where I took most of the downtown pictures, along with on Market itself, High st., Broadway st. and Mill st. My point of comparison is Highland Sguare of Akron's scaled down counterpart to Cleveland's Coventry. Pretty cool, young, and fairly dense.
September 14, 200618 yr My point of comparison is Highland Sguare of Akron's scaled down counterpart to Cleveland's Coventry. Pretty cool, young, and fairly dense. I also think it should be noted that also like Coventry, Highland Square has been that way for a long time. I don't think it ever fell into decline and seems to be getting more popular than ever with the new projects going on.
December 9, 200816 yr Great shots! I hope you find some of the really great shots that I can think of. I'm a 50/50 Cleveland/Akron person. The topic is Akron, which will always have my heart. I'm living in North Carolina now and it's killing me that there is no one who really knows Akron posting pics. You want towers: Spring Hill, Saferstien, Channelwood. You want architecture, Merriman Valley, The Woods, continue down Portage Trail and Portage Path. You want Valleys: Take some shots off of the Y Bridge or RT8 Bridge, or from Spring Hill or from the top of one of the hills overlooking Merriman Valley. The best shot of DT Akron's Skyline is off the top of Howard Hill. You want Canal Shots: take some at Channelwood. The Gorge offer some interesting shots and The Cuyahoga or Munroe Falls or Silver Lake. The Portage Lakes are a collection of 5 large lakes; pretty much on one street, which is Manchester Rd. I owned a house on that street. Summit Lake use to be an Amusement Park that was packed all of the time. Anybody remember that? Talk about bars and resteraunts, just ride through the Portage Lakes neighborhoods on a Friday Night. Exchange street and the neighborhoods of Madison and Walhaven are full of brick roads lined with huge, fat trees and huge homes with great architecture. Has anyone been to DT Akron on Friday or Saturday Night, lately? Wow! What a comeback! As far as Akron's size: Max size was an Inner City Population of right around 300,000 people and a metropolitan area of, officially, about 993,000 people. When you throw in The Canton Metro, about 1.6 million in it's "Hay Day". To put that in perspective, Akron, for the longest was only 55 square miles. This was during it's "Hay Day". Can you imagine the density of 300,000 people in 55 square miles? Of-course, the city limits are quite a bit more spread out now, due to annexation. There was a time that Akron looked, felt and was as dense as a much, larger city. Have you guys seen any really old DT Akron pictures? I wish someone would find some and post them. It looked like DT Manhattan. Well, not quite. But you get the picture. I may try to find some on the internet. If anyone has any, please post them. OK, I'm done. I really miss Akron and Cleveland.
December 9, 200816 yr Akron looks like a fantastic city. I wish I could've stopped down there during my trip to Cleveland this last summer. Just one thing though... Is it just me, or does everyone in this photograph look malnourished?
December 10, 200816 yr There is nowhere near enough Akron pics on this website. I'm a student at the UA honors college so I'll come on in a month or two(after I get a new camera) and post some amateur(at best) shots of the UA campus....in my humble opinion it's one of the most underrated urban campuses in the Midwest. I'll try and get some pics of downtown as well. I wont post those until they finish the renovations on Main St. I guess someone has to post some Akron pics.
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