Plusquellic opened the year-long celebration by unveiling a newly-created logo for the 175th
anniversary year featuring a "spirit line" selected by the coalition:
"Akron 175. Celebrating Our Heritage. Inventive. Industrious. Inspired." The
first appearance of the logo arrived on one of the new trolleys acquired by Metro Regional
Transit Authority, which will begin regular downtown service late this spring.
Metro will acquire three trolleys that will provide a "loop"
service through downtown and will assist commuters in attending Centeseptequinary events.
The service will be supported by the Downtown Akron Partnership, with schedules and fares
to be announced later.
"Akron's first trolleys were horse-drawn herdics that traveled on
tracks in the streets in 1883," according to Bob Pfaff, Metro's general manager.
"From 1888 until 1947, Akron was well-served by "streetcars" which really
became the reason that Akron could develop out from its central city."
Akron's 175th anniversary is being coordinated by the Summit
County Historical Society which has received a $175,000 grant from the city to fund the
variety of programs being held. "The Society itself was founded 75 years ago this
month to plan Akron's centennial observance," said Judith Rainey Baughmann, president
of the Society. "We've assembled an array of events, exhibits, and outreach that will
permit every person and organization in the city to participate in this celebration."
A portion of the city grant is being reserved for neighborhood history
projects. "We're inviting local neighborhoods and ethnic groups to stage their own
celebrations to celebrate our heritage," said Rainey-Baughmann. "Funds will be
made available through the historical society to support appropriate projects."
Interested groups should contact the Society for an application for funding, by writing
the Society at its offices, 550 Copley Road in Akron or by calling 535-1120.
Historical Society director Paula Moran and curator Leianne Heppner are
overseeing development of special exhibits which will be installed throughout 2000 in
downtown Akron's skywalk system. Displays will tell the story of Akron's founding and the
city's economic and social history over 175 years. Exhibits will be located in the lobbies
of Akron City Hall and Main Place which are connected by above-ground corridors called
"skywalks". There will be special displays on downtown history located in the
skywalks between Main Place and Citicenter, between Citicenter and City Hall, and between
City Hall and the Ohio Building. The first such exhibit celebrating the 160th
anniversary of the founding of Summit County was opened on February 28 in the 4th
floor atrium of the Ohio Building.
Rainey-Baughmann also announced that the Historical Society will
publish a new book to be available in September, featuring the spectacular collection of
Akron postcards from the Society's archives as well as a private collection owned by Ruth
Clinefelter, professor of bibliography/social sciences and humanities librarian at the
University of Akron. In addition to the book, the Society will produce an hour-long
documentary about Akron history for broadcast on PBS 45/49 on December 6, the actual
centeseptequinary of Akron.
Previously, the city announced that the "official"
celebration to remember the anniversary year will be held on September 10. A time capsule
interred on September 10, 1950 will be removed from beneath the porch of the Simon Perkins
Stone Mansion, home of Akron's founding family. The time capsule is known to contain over
180 items from residents and organizations. The mansion is operated as a historic house
museum by the Historical Society.
Plusquellic announced that the city, the historical society, and the
public schools will collaborate on a special birthday party for Akron to be held on
December 6 in Akron's elementary schools. "All children love birthday parties,"
said Plusquellic, "and we're going to give them one to remember." The Akron
Community Foundation will also be a partner in the celebration by encouraging children to
participate in a "gift" to the city: the foundation's Millennium Fund for
Children.
The first event to celebrate the 175th year will be the
re-dedication of the "mighty" Wurlitzer organ at the Akron Civic Theatre on
Saturday, March 18 at 7:30pm. Organist Lyn Larsen of Phoenix will revive the 1929 musical
instrument and its 1600 pipes with a celebratory concert. The performance by Larsen,
organist of the year, includes one piece of music written for the city during its age of
airships, the Akron, Queen of the Skies March by Anne Berrodin, written in 1932.
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