- 10/28/2024 4:05:00 AM
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Akron, Ohio
The county capital of Summit County, Akron (/krn/) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated about 40 miles (64 km) south of Cleveland's downtown on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau. The city proper has a total population of 190,469 at the time of the 2020 Census, ranking it as the 125th largest city in the country. An estimated 703,505 people lived in the Summit and Portage counties that make up the Akron metropolitan region.
At the apex of the emerging Ohio and Erie Canal, Simon Perkins and Paul Williams constructed the city in 1825 near the Little Cuyahoga River. The term "akron" is an ancient Greek word that meant "summit" or "high point," hence the name. After Eliakim Crosby created nearby North Akron in 1833, it was briefly renamed South Akron, and in 1836, the two combined to form an incorporated village. Akron had the fastest population growth in the country in the 1910s, when its population more than doubled.
Akron earned the moniker "Rubber Capitol of the World" due to its long history of producing rubber and tires, a tradition that is still carried out today by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. It once had a reputation as a hub for airship research. Its prominent businesses are Gojo Industries, FirstEnergy, Huntington Bank, and Charter Spectrum. Nowadays, its economy includes manufacturing, education, healthcare, and biomedical research.
The adoption of the Akron School Law of 1847, which established the K–12 education system, the development of Alcoholics Anonymous, the Akron Experiment into goiter prevention with iodized salt, the 1983 Supreme Court case City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, and portions of the 2014 Gay Games are notable historical events that took place in Akron. The Ain't I A Woman? speech by Sojourner Truth in 1851, the 1920 address by W. E. B. Du Bois, and the 1997 speech by President Bill Clinton all took place in this multiracial metropolis. The Universal Black Improvement Association was established by Marcus Garvey in Akron in 1914. The riot of 1900, the rubber strike of 1936, and the Wooster Avenue riots of 1968 were three significant instances of civic disturbance in Akron.
Geography
On the glaciated Allegheny Plateau, Akron is situated in the Great Lakes region 39 miles (63 km) south of Lake Erie. Barberton and Cuyahoga Falls are its northern and southern neighbors, respectively. It serves as the hub of both the smaller Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area, which includes Summit and Portage Counties, and the larger Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area. The topography of Akron comprises undulating hills and a variety of terrain because it is situated on the western extremity of the plateau. The city is divided into east and west by the Ohio and Erie Canal. The only biogas facility in the US, located near Akron, uses sludge's decomposition to generate power while also producing methane. The city has a total area of 62.37 square miles (161.5 km2), of which 62.03 square miles (160.7 km2), or 99.45%, is land, and 0.34 square miles (0.88 km2), or 0.55%, is water. This information is from the 2010 Census.
Climate
With four distinct seasons and a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), Akron is located in USDA hardiness zone 6b, with zone 6a prevailing in the surrounding suburbs. The winters are chilly and dry, but they frequently include a combination of rain, sleet, and snow as well as severe snowfall and icing. With an annual mean temperature of 26.1 °F (3.3 °C), January is the coldest month of the year. On average, temperatures dip to or below 0 °F (18 °C) on 3.8 days and remain below freezing on 41 days per year. The amount of snowfall here is considerably less than in the snowbelt regions along Lake Erie, averaging about 47.5 inches (121 cm) every season. The record-breaking snowiest month was January 1978, with snowfall totals ranging from 18.2 inches (46 cm) in 1949–50 to 82.0 inches (208 cm) in that same year. Generally speaking, the change to fewer weather systems that generate higher rainfall occurs in the spring. Summers are often quite hot and muggy, with temperatures at or over 90 °F (32 °C) on an average of 8.0 days each year. The number of days at or above 90 °F (32 °C) has reached 36 in one year, 1931, while the most recent year without exceeding that mark was 2004. With an average mean temperature of 72.0 °F (22 °C), July is the warmest month. The autumn season is often dry with plenty of sunny, warm days and cold evenings.
On August 6, 1918, Akron experienced its highest recorded high temperature of 104 °F (40 °C), while on January 19, 1994, the city experienced its lowest recorded low temperature of 25 °F (32 °C). The heaviest rain ever recorded on a single calendar day was 5.96" of rain on July 7, 1943. A 174-day growing season is possible because the first and latest freezes of the year typically occur on October 18 and April 26, respectively. 49.8 °F (9.9 °C) is the average annual temperature. Based on a 30-year average from 1991 to 2020, the average annual precipitation is 41.57 inches (1,056 mm), falling on 158 days on average. The historical range of monthly precipitation is 12.55 in (319 mm) in July 2003 to 0.20 in (5.1 mm) in September 1960, while the historical range of annual precipitation is 65.70 in (1,669 mm) in 1990 to 23.79 in (604 mm) in 1963.
Economy
Several American industries either got their start in the city or were affected by it. Akron earned the title of "Rubber City of the World" after launching the tire and rubber industry throughout the 20th century with the formation of Goodrich, Firestone, General Tire, as well as the Goodyear merger with The Kelly-Springfield Tire Company. Akron is recognized as a high-tech hub that significantly contributes to the Information Age and has received economic accolades for City Livability and All-American City, among others. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and FirstEnergy are two current Fortune 500 corporations with their headquarters in the city. A number of other well-known businesses with headquarters in the city also include GOJO, Advanced Elastomer Systems, Babcock & Wilcox, Myers Industries, Acme Fresh Market, and Sterling Jewelry. The fifth-largest private employer in Summit County and America's largest tire maker, Goodyear, recently erected a new global headquarters in the area. A sizable retail and commercial development area will be present in the Akron Riverwalk project. Due to the 2007–2010 financial crisis, the project was put on hold and only recently resumed. Bridgestone relocated its product development operations to the new location in early 2012 after constructing a new technical center with cutting-edge R&D facilities. KeyBank's Eastern Ohio Division, which has six locations in the city, constructed a regional headquarters there. The downtown area of the city offers a free WiFi hotspot corridor. Goodyear Heights, East Akron, North Hill, Firestone Park, Kenmore, and West Akron are among the neighborhoods within the range.
Culture and the Arts
E. J. Thomas Hall, one of the city's three performing venues, is located in Akron. The Akron Symphony Orchestra, Tuesday Musical Club, and Children's Concert Society are among the regular performers. Broadway musicals, ballets, comedies, talks, and performers are just a few of the world-class productions that draw 400,000 visitors a year. Three decks of seating in the hall can accommodate 2,955. The counter-weighted ceiling can be adjusted, changing the actual size of the hall while maintaining excellent acoustics. The Akron Civic Theatre, which located in the heart of the city, debuted in 1929 as the Loew's Theater. Marcus Loew and John Eberson collaborated on the design and construction of this atmospheric theater. Many Moorish elements, such as arches and ornamental tiles, can be found throughout the theater. It has intricate wood carvings, statues made of alabaster, and European antiquities. The theatre has 5,000 seats. The Lock 3 Park amphitheater, which hosts the First Night in Akron each year, is located behind it on the canal. The Akron Art Museum, located downtown, presents national and international exhibitions in addition to work created since 1850. In the basement of the Akron Public Library, it debuted as the Akron Art Institute in 1922. In 1981, it relocated to its present site inside the restored post office building from 1899. With the addition of the John S. and James L. Knight Building, which was still under construction in 2005 when it won the Chicago Athenaeum's American Architecture Prize, the museum's size more than tripled in 2007.
The seventh-largest historic mansion in the country is Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens, which was constructed between 1912 and 1915 for Frank Seiberling.
The 104 acres (0.42 km2) F.A. Seiberling Natural Realm, which is a part of Sand Run Metro Park, has a visitor center, hiking paths, three ponds, gardens, and a variety of special activities offered all year long. The Akron Police Museum features memorabilia from Beautiful Boy Floyd and his group, whose gang frequently visited the city.
The American Marble and Toy Museum is located in Akron.
Government
The Akron mayor is chosen by the entire city. The city chose its 62nd mayor in 2016. Each of the city's ten wards elects one representative to the Akron City Council, and three more are chosen at large. Currently, the administration, communications, community relations, economic development, labor relations, law, planning & urban development, planning director-deputy, public safety, and public service directors and deputy directors make up the mayor's cabinet. In 1920, the city adopted a new charter of the commissioner-manager type; but, in 1924, it went back to its previous format.
Dan Horrigan is the mayor at the moment. Don Plusquellic, a longtime mayor of Akron, made his resignation from office official on May 8, 2015, after 28 years in office and 41 years of devotion to the community. Garry Moneypenny was sworn in as the new mayor at East High School on May 31, 2015. Moneypenny served as the Akron City Council President, the Chief Deputy and Assistant Sheriff of the Summit County Sheriff's Office, and the Chief of Police of the Springfield Township Police Department.
Less than a week after taking office, on June 5, 2015, Mayor Moneypenny declared he will not seek re-election due to inappropriate interaction with a city employee. Moneypenny made his resignation known three days later, effective at midnight on June 10. On June 11, 2015, Council President Jeff Fusco became mayor. Fusco decided against running for mayor and instead ran for and won an at-large council seat. In accordance with the city law, which states that the mayor must give the city his whole attention, Fusco also declared that he would temporarily resign from his position as chair of the Summit County Democratic Party.
Three Democrats and one Republican were vying to be Akron's mayor as of July 1, 2015. Former ward 4 Councilman and current Summit County Clerk of Courts Dan Horrigan, at-large Councilman Mike Williams, and Summit County Councilman Frank Communale were the Democratic candidates. On September 8, a Democratic primary was held, and Horrigan won. He ran against African-American criminal defense lawyer Eddie Sipplen, the lone GOP candidate, in the general election. Horrigan was chosen to serve as Akron's 62nd mayor on November 3, 2015. He was sworn in on January 1st, 2016. 2019 saw Mayor Horrigan win re-election for a second term on November 5.
Education
The Akron City School District is primarily responsible for providing early childhood, elementary, and secondary education. When Ansel Miller proposed to create free public schools for all kids in the city, funded by property taxes, planning for the district got under way. After facing a lot of hostility from the populace, Miller teamed up with Rev. Isaac Jennings in 1843. Three years later, Jennings was appointed head of a group of residents who examined ways to enhance the educational system. On November 21, 1846, all of the citizens voted in favor of their proposal. On February 8, 1847, the Ohio Assembly passed the proposal, which was titled "An act for the maintenance and better control of the Common Schools of the Town of Akron." The first public schools in Akron were started in the fall of 1847, under the direction of Mortimer Leggett. According to the first annual report, educating a child year costs less than $2.
The annual cost of maintaining the schools in 1857 was $4,200. Young women were employed as elementary school teachers, which the Akron Board of Education justified on the grounds that they could be paid less and were supervised by a male superintendent. Instead of annually, Akron graduated students every two years from 1877 to 1952. In 1888, 9% of the city's residents who were of school age were foreign-born. An Americanization program was created in the 1920s to aid the numerous first-generation American kids in Akron. Courses were held in several of the schools and rubber industries. For working boys and girls who were mandated by law to attend school for at least four hours per week, a "continuation school" was established. The platoon schools in Akron, Ohio, attracted tourists from all across the nation in 1924. having served as a Ku Klux Klan stronghold The majority of school board members and government officials were members throughout the decade.
When Wendell Willkie arrived, their influence ceased. Schools in Akron increased eight times faster than the city's population during the 1950s boom town era. Kenmore established the Air Force JROTC in 1967. The middle school plan, which sent ninth students to senior high school, was tested out by Jennings in 1971. Seiberling, Rankin, and Hatton schools piloted all-day kindergarten in 1984, and Ellet, East, and Garfield high schools piloted an in-school suspension program. The state gave the district an A+ rating in its evaluation that year.
From 2002 until its closure in 2018, the Akron Digital Academy serviced Akron.
LeBron James launched the I Promise School, which helps underprivileged children, as part of his philanthropic foundation's activities in the city.
The University of Akron is located in the city. The National Polymer Innovation Center and the Goodyear Polymer Center are located on the campus, which was once known as Buchtel College.
Now, all Akron Public Schools are undergoing a 15-year, $800 million reconstruction plan. The Ohio Department of Education has changed the status of the city's schools from "Academic Watch" to "Continuous Improvement." Private, parochial, and charter schools are widely available in Akron.
Population
Ohio's Summit County is home to the city of Akron. Moreover, Summit County's County seat is there. It is the 144th largest city in the United States and the fifth largest in Ohio with a projected population of 187,877 in 2023. The population of Akron has fallen by -1.36% from the most recent census, which showed a population of 190,469 in 2020. The city is currently deteriorating at a pace of -0.46% annually. Akron, which stretches over 62 miles, has a population density of 3,034 individuals per square mile
The poverty rate in Akron is 27.16% while the average household income is $55,286. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. In Akron, the median age is 36.5 years, with 34.9 years for men and 38.1 years for women.
The "Rubber Capitol of the World" is one of the numerous worldwide firms that have called Akron home.