Akron, Ohio : The City Of Invention

Akron, OH is the county seat for Summit County. It was founded by Simon Perkins in 1825 and developed into a canal town on the Ohio & Erie Canal. As railroads replaced the canal system, the rubber industry grew under the guidance of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, F.A. Seiberling, and Harvey Firestone. The presence of B.F. Goodrich Tire, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Firestone Tire, and General Tire led Akron to become the Rubber Capital of the World. Great cereal mills, such as the Quaker Oats Company were also located in Akron. The silos from the Quaker Oats plant are still a very visible landmark in downtown Akron. Until this year, the complex was a Crowne Plaza hotel (yes, you could actually sleep in a silo - the rooms are round!); now, the next tenants in there will be University of Akron students, as the University has purchased the property for additional housing.

Akron is now a world-renowned center of polymer research, and development. The Polymer Science Institute of the University of Akron has made the city an international leader in education in the polymer field. More than 35,000 people in the Akron area are employed in approximately 400 polymer related companies. Akron is also home to many small manufacturing firms, and has a large variety of retail establishments and shopping complexes. But, the availability of green space provided by 6,600 acres of Metropolitan Parks, just moments from residential areas makes Akron a pleasing combination of urban convenience and pastoral beauty. The park system includes a 25-mile bike and hike trail. Akron is also home to the Ohio Ballet, The Akron Symphony Orchestra, and E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall which brings Broadway plays, and many world famous entertainers home to us. Canal Park is the new state-o- the-art baseball stadium in downtown Akron on Main Street, home to the Akron Aeros (the Cleveland Indians AA baseball team). The historic Ohio & Erie Canal runs just beyond center field of Canal Park in downtown off of Main Street.

Goodyear Airdock History Site

The Goodyear Airdock (where the blimps are stored) is located at 1210 Massillion Road, Akron, Ohio, and can be easily seen from U.S. Rt. 224 just east of downtown Akron. The airdock is not open to the public. It was constructed in 1929 by the Goodyear Zepplin Corporation; work began on April 20, 1929, and was completed by November 25th at a cost of $2.2 million. With the construction of the Airdock, Akron became one of the centers for development and construction of lighter-than-air ships. Two dirigibles, the Akron (ZRS-4) and its sister, the Macon (ZRS-5), were built in the Airdock and launched in 1931 and 1934 respectively.

The maximum length of the Goodyear Airdock is 1,175 feet with a maximum width of 325 feet and a maximum height of 211 feet. At the ends of the building are identical semi-spherical doors, each weighing 600 tons. These doors are fastened at the top by hollow forged pins 17 inches in diameter and six feet long. The doors rest on 40 wheels set on curved railroad tracks. On each side of the building, about 100 feeet is a row of 12 windows. The airdock might
be said to "breathe," as it is mounted on rollers to compensate for expansion and contraction due to temperature changes. At the time it was built, it was the largest building in the world without interior supports. When World War II broke out, enclosed production areas were rapidly needed, and the Airdock was used for this purpose. The Airdock has more recently served as the site of the 1986 kickoff rally for the United Way of Summit County and some 200,000 members of the public visited. President Clinton spoke here as a candidate in the 1992 election, bringing some 30,000 visitors to the site. Loral Corporation purchased Goodyear Aerospace Corporation and the Goodyear Airdock, in 1987 and it was later acquired by the Lockheed Martin Corporation in 1996.

The Official All American Soap Box Derby Website

The Soap Box Derby is a youth soapbox car racing program which has been run nationally since 1934. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio. Cars competing in this and related events are un-powered, relying completely upon gravity to move. The first All-American Soap Box Derby race was held in Dayton, OH on August 19, 1934. The following year, the race was moved to Akron because of its central location and hilly terrain. In 1936, Akron civic leaders recognized the need for a permanent track site for the racing classic and, through the efforts of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Derby Downs became a reality.

The modern gravity-powered racers start at a ramp on top of a hill, attaining speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Rally races and qualifying races in cities around the world use advanced timing systems that measure the time difference between the competing cars to the thousandth of a second to determine the winner of a heat. Each heat of a race lasts less than 30 seconds. Most races are double elimination races where a racer that loses a heat can work their way through the Challenger's Bracket in an attempt to win the overall race. The annual World Championship race in Akron, however, is a single elimination race which uses overhead photography, triggered by a timing system, to determine the winner of each heat. Approximately 500 racers compete in 2 or 3 car heats to determine a World Champion in each of six divisions.

Today there are broader categories that extend the age range to younger racers and permit adults to assist in construction. This is especially helpful for younger children who cannot use power tools, as well as to provide an outlet for adults.

In 1993, the All-American Soap Box derby began the Rally World Championship. The Rally derby, works on a grand prix style of race where each district (10 in all) send back a number of champions based on number of racers and races in each district.

Akron Aero's Website

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.