Peek inside: The Akron History Center prepares for its debut

While no opening date is set, the long-awaited museum is moving toward the finish line. 

When the Akron History Center opens its doors to the public, it will mark the beginning of a new chapter for the city — and the end of another for the museum’s founder, David Lieberth.

“I’m exhausted. It’s all I can say,” Lieberth said during a recent tour of the museum.

Although its website promotes a December opening, Lieberth, president of the nonprofit Akron History Center, Inc., said an opening date isn’t set. He said all the exhibits should be installed by Nov. 22, and the ceremonial grand opening will be next year during Akron’s bicentennial.

To date, the nonprofit Akron History Center, Inc. has raised $2.1 million from 62 different donors to fund the design, exhibit fabrication and construction costs, Lieberth said.

The idea for the Akron History Center started in 1980 when someone pitched the idea of a museum to the Summit County Historical Society. At the time, Lieberth was a 33-year-old member of the society’s board of directors.

“We put together a plan, and at various times during those last 40 years, I’ve raised the plan, trying to find people to sign on to it,” he said. “Until Don Taylor gave us the space, we didn’t really have it.”

Taylor is the president and CEO of Welty Building Co., which is also behind expansions at the Akron Art Museum and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The building that houses the 3,000-square-foot museum was part of the Bowery Project, which revitalized six historic buildings on Main Street.

Due to a funding requirement from the city, Lieberth said 172 S. Main St. could not be used for retail. “They wanted this space to remain open as a corridor between Main Street and Lock 4,” he said.

In 2021, Taylor asked Lieberth if he had any suggestions for how to utilize the building.
“And I said, ‘Yeah, I have an idea,’” Lieberth recalled.

History making in Akron

Crews were hard at work during Signal Akron’s recent visit to the Akron History Center. While the majority of the artifacts have yet to be installed, remnants of the city’s history were scattered throughout the museum’s three floors.

On the first floor, a large photo of the stretch of Main Street the museum sits on greets visitors. Depending on where they stand, people will see a view of the street from 1930 or 2024.

Lieberth offered a brief history of the building the museum now calls home.

“It opened in 1909 as the Imperial Market. In 1912 it became Wagner Provisions, which operated pretty much up through the Second World War. In the 1950s it became the Siff’s shoe store,” he said. “And then those of us who have been around for a long time remember it mostly as Jay Drugs, until the city shut down all these buildings in about 1999.”

Also on the first floor is a NASCAR tire donated by Goodyear and photos of Akron’s arts scene. A flat screen — one of 34 in the museum — will display a game about race car tires. Communication Exhibits, Inc., the firm that created all of the museum’s exhibits, developed the game. It will allow users to see how certain variables affect the outcome of a race.

Another first-floor exhibit tells the story of Akron’s music history, complete with a wall-spanning photo from the Rolling Stones’ 1972 Rubber Bowl concert. Also on this floor: a display of 64 Akronites who impacted the country and an interactive exhibit from EarthQuaker Devices, which manufactures effect pedals.

Showcasing the Rubber City — and more

The middle floor highlights well-trodden moments of Akron’s history — such as the rubber industry and the creation of Alcoholics Anonymous — plus lesser-known stories, including the fishing tackle and cereal industries and Saalfield Publishing Co.

Lieberth pointed to a grid on the ceiling. From it, a model of the USS Akron airship, a Soap Box Derby racer and a bicycle manufactured in Akron in 1900 will soon hang.

Another exhibit on the middle floor focuses on Akron’s airship industry and the building and dedication of the USS Akron. “Mrs. Herbert Hoover dedicated the USS Akron in 1930, and she pulled a rope that opened a panel in the airship, out of which a flock of doves flew,” Lieberth said. “We have the rope, and the rope will be hanging in a plexiglass case there. And the flag that was on the ship that day will be positioned here as well.”

During a storm in 1933, the airship crashed, killing 73 people on board. (By comparison, the Hindenburg explosion four years later killed 36 people.)

The Ohio & Erie Canal (still) flows through Akron

The lower floor tells the story of Akron’s founding. The exhibits will highlight the area’s early Indigenous people and the founding of the Western Reserve, as well as prominent figures including abolitionist John Brown and Akron founder Simon Perkins.

On this floor, history is, quite literally all around, from the picturesque view of Lock 4 from the back door to the 1899 map of Akron displayed on the floor.

Akron)“You’re looking at the names of property owners. You’re looking at the street patterns that existed in 1899, but most importantly, you’re looking at how the Ohio & Erie Canal flowed through downtown Akron, and so that’s an exhibit in itself,” Lieberth said. An exhibit about the canal is crafted from wood harvested from felled trees at the Perkins Stone Mansion and the John Brown House. Outside sit two sandstone pillars that were recovered from the Heisman Lodge at the Rubber Bowl after it was demolished.

Looking back — and looking ahead

The majority of the Akron History Center’s artifacts will come from the Summit County Historical Society. With more than 10,000 pieces in its collection, President and CEO Leianne Neff Heppner said it isn’t always about the prettiest artifact. It’s about what tells the best story.

Neff Heppner, who has been with the historical society for 25 years, said it’s “awe inspiring” to be a part of the team building the Akron History Center. When it opens, she hopes the center encourages visitors to think about their own history. With its 40-year timeline, the museum is an example of history in the making.

“When you work on a long-range plan, you see all the pieces [and] parts that have to come together to make something come to fruition. And if those things had not happened … we wouldn’t be where we are,” she said. “That’s another aspect of why history is so important, because you are part of another project that you may not even be aware of.”

Lieberth isn’t sure what his role will look like once the Akron History Center opens. The Akron-Summit County Public Library will operate the museum long term. Caitlyn Conley, local history and museum specialist for the library, will manage the museum.

“It’s turned out better than my wildest dreams,” Conley said of watching the museum come together. Conley started her role in January. She wants visitors to the museum to learn that “Akron’s more than just a Rubber City.”

“We have a rich history and a variety of different aspects. Today I was actually researching the Wooster Riots in ’68, and seeing the parallels to contemporary Akron at the moment and the past couple of years, is just, it’s heartbreaking,” she said. “People who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. And I’m hoping that this brings light and hope to people.”