The Akron History Center has 3,000 square feet of exhibits, on three floors. Each floor is an exhibit:

At the Lock 4 (bottom) level, the floor is an image of a hand-drawn 1899 map of Downtown Akron showing the exact routes of the Ohio & Erie Canal and the P&O Canal.

The mid-level floor, our “Boomtown” level is rubber tile and an image of the BF Goodrich complex in 1950.

The street level floor is the original terrazzo floor that dates to the building’s first tenant in 1909, The Imperial Grocery.

Throughout the Center, the stories of Akron and its citizens are told on 34 separate flat screens, with video PowerPoints and archival images dating back 200 years.

The museum is punctuated with more than 100 artifacts. Most are from the collections of the Summit County Historical Society. Others are from the collections of the Lighter Than Air Society, the Archives of the University of Akron, and the Special Collections Division of the Akron-Summit County Public Library. 

Did You Know?
Since forming in Akron in 2001, the rock duo The Black Keys have won 5 Grammy’s while being nominated 14 times.
John Brown wall
Derby Downs mural
Quaker Oats factory 1914
Al J. Engel with his Curtis biplane Summit Lake 1914
Western Reserve map of Northeast Ohio
Rubber chemistry class at Buchtel College
City of Opportunity stamp

What can you expect to see at the Akron History Center?

Dr. Bob Smith’s office door from the Second National Building
  • Goodyear hosts an interactive exhibit boasting of Akron’s historic role as a center for race tire production, including a NASCAR tire made in Akron.
  • The Akron Sound Museum collection of artifacts documents the city’s role in the Industrial Rock era of the 1980’s.
  • The Summit County Historical Society will exhibit the 200-year-old pistols, holsters and compass  that tell the story of General Simon Perkins and the contributions of the Perkins family over the city’s first century.
  • A gas mask for children licensed by Walt Disney during World War II (one of only 3 in the U.S.) will be on display once conservation of the mask is completed by the Intermuseum Conservation Association of Cleveland.
  • Dr. Bob Smith’s office door from the Second National Building will be a touchstone for the thousands of  AA adherents who visit Akron each June.
  • A 1950’s working model of the landmark Airdock recalls Akron’s Lighter Than Air history, along with the duralumin models used to design the USS Akron.
  • GOJO’s history, starting with the first dispensers hand-tooled by founder Jerry Lippman will be shown along with the electronic Purell dispensers of today.
  • Judith Resnik’s uniform patch from the maiden voyage of Space Shuttle Discovery. She was an engineer, part of the first group of NASA astronauts to include women.
  • Pause at the wall of honor, “Akronites Who Impacted America,” eight flatscreens televising the life stories of champions from Akron who have achieved national and international recognition.
  • Twenty Steps to Social Justice – the landmark events that have defined Akron as a place where we struggle – and eventually prevail – on issues of race, identity, and disability.