Distinctly Downtown: Haunted Akron

Jeri Holland has been interested in ghosts, and in local history, since she was a kid.

When she was 19, Holland’s grandfather passed away. A few months later, she and her brother were cleaning out the basement of his old house when they heard someone enter the house upstairs, walk across the floor above their heads, and then walk into their grandfather’s bedroom. They clearly heard the door shut, but when they went upstairs to investigate, they found it open. They were alone in the house.

That was Holland’s first experience with the paranormal.

Since then, she’s become a prominent local historian, publishing several books about Akron history and helping create the website akronhistory.org. She’s also a long-standing member of Cuyahoga Valley Paranormal, a team of “ghost hunters” based out of Cuyahoga Falls; conducts tours of Akron’s haunted sites and other historical hotspots; and gives lectures on ghost hunting and cryptozoology at area libraries and nursing homes.

Downtown Akron has a long history of ghost stories and scary tales. There’s Hower House, long haunted by strange lights, and the spirit of a woman seeking vengeance on her unfaithful husband; or TKE House, frat house and former servant quarters at the University of Akron, where the brothers have been scaring pledges for decades with tales of the mysterious headstone in the parking lot – supposedly the final resting place of a servant girl who hung herself from the building’s balcony over a century ago.

And, of course, there’s the Akron Civic Theatre, home to more ghosts than you can shake a Ouija board at: including Fred the Janitor, a former employee with a penchant for chasing unruly customers who defile the facility’s restrooms; Well-Dressed Man, a devoted patron with a permanent seat in one of the theatre’s balconies; and Suicide Girl, remnant of Akron’s canal days, a melancholy specter often heard sobbing as she walks beside the old canal that runs behind the building.

Holland’s interest in ghost hunting evolved out of her love of local history.

“If a place is haunted, it’s not haunted for the hell of it,” Holland says. “There’s a history behind it, and I like delving into that.” There are different types of haunting, according to Holland. Some, like Suicide Girl, are “like a DVD playing over and over,” harmless re-enactments of old events created when powerful emotions are expended in a particular place; others, like Fred, have been known to interact with witnesses – sometimes playfully, sometimes horribly.

“Sometimes we find absolutely nothing, and then there times when we’ve been… unnerved,” Holland says of her ghost hunting experiences. An investigation typically begins when she and her fellow team members are contacted by a local business or home owner, though they also investigate known haunted places and historic sites, and have visited locations as far south as Springfield.

Holland was approached by publishers with a proposal for her first book, Haunted Akron, after working on websites devoted to Akron and Cuyahoga Falls history for many years,. Since then, she’s published two other books of local lore, Murder & Mayhem in Akron and Summit County and Memories of an Akron Christmas. She’s currently working on projects devoted to haunting activity in Cuyahoga National Park, as well as a book about Akron’s history as a City of Invention.

By: Tony Baker                                                                                                             DAP Intern

Distinctly Downtown: Quaker Square General Store

The General Store at Quaker Square has been around a lot longer than you might think.

“We’ve been here for 35 or 40 years,” according to Kris Duey, who’s worked at the store herself for 12 years. The store far predates the purchase of Quaker Square by the University of Akron in 2007, though the store, like the upper floors of the hotel, is now run by the University.

The store carries a much wider range of items than your average hotel gift shop, postcards-and-T-shirts fare, including Akron and Quaker Square souvenirs, cookbooks and tomes on local history published by University of Akron Press, gift baskets, and a selection of puzzles, crafts, stuffed animals, and tin boxes for kids. One corner of the store is devoted to what Duey calls “nostalgia candy” – rare brands that can’t generally be found in most stores.

The shop merged with a separate retailer, a comic book store called The Newsstand, in 2008. “The comics are a big draw,” Duey says. “We sell a lot of comics.” The middle third of the store is dedicated to a huge display featuring comics, magazines, collectible action figures, and cardboard cutouts. They also play host to a comic book club on the last Saturday of each month, where UA students and other members make popcorn, screen superhero movies, and generally have a good time. (The club meets from 2:30 – 5pm).

Finally, the store shares its space with a small museum devoted to vintage trains and railroad history.

“It’s a nice atmosphere,” says Duey. “Different than a mall-type situation. The people in the building are wonderful.” The store attracts visitors from all over, including tourists, hotel guests, and of course, UA students. “I love the kids,” Duey says. “They keep the place lively.”

By: Tony Baker                                                                                                                   DAP Intern

The 15th Annual Hower House Artisan Fair

The Victorian era is a period of British history between 1837 and 1901. The time period coincided with the reign of Britain’s longest reigning monarch Queen Victoria. Though the strict social decorum, architecture, and style that defined the Victorian era started in England they were not confined there. Many Victorian practices found their way to America and even to the then burgeoning city of Akron.

The most prominent example of the Victorian influence in Akron is the Hower House. The home, completed in 1871 for Akron Industrialist John Henry Howard and his wife Susan Youngker Howard,   is comprised of 28 rooms and houses an incredibly diverse amount of artwork and furniture which the Hower’s collected from around the world.

While the Howard men were generally business men who turned Akron into an industry driven city the Howard women largely devoted themselves to philanthropic endeavors.  In particular Blanche Howard, the daughter-in-law of John Henry Howard, was an advocate for universal education. She founded, and completely funded for the first year, the Milton Howard Trade School in order to educate the scores of young men flocking to Akron for factory jobs.

The Howard family is now gone from the mansion they inhabited for so long, but others have taken their place. The house was donated to The University of Akron in 1970 and is now operated as a museum. The current director of the house, Linda Bussey, believes that it is because of the Hower’s integral role in building Akron that the home is so important. She said, “You always hear that if you don’t hang onto your history you make the same mistakes. I think in this case if we devalue the past we devalue where we came from.” Bussey and her volunteer staff seek to do just that.

The two volunteer organizations that have kept the Hower House standing to this day are The Friends of the Hower House and the Victorians. The Friends of the Hower House raise funds for conservation and repairs and the Victorians handle the daily operations of the house. The Victorians conduct tours Wednesday through Saturday from 12 to 3 p.m. Each of these groups host events throughout the year with one nearly every month.

This month’s event will be the 15^th annual Artisan Fair on April 12and 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fair will host 15 different vendors with an array of crafts not necessarily Victorian, but made in the Victorian tradition. Vendors will offer small antiques, custom made teas, jewelry from several different dealers, soaps and lotions, pressed flower art, ornamental iron works, and even baked goods made using Victorian recipes. In addition to the vendors, a raffle will be held for donated items. One of the antique vendors, Sue Marocchino, will also be appraising one antique per person from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This year the Hower House is also starting a wine tasting on Friday evening from 4 to 7 p.m. called Gnibbles and Gnosh. There is a $5 general admission and a $20 admission fee will get admission to the house and the wine tasting as well as a raffle ticket.

The Hower House offers a unique perspective not only on Victorian culture but on the foundation of Akron. For those interested in learning more about the men and women who helped form Akron and the culture that in turn shaped their lives, the Hower House is a nearby destination with an illuminating perspective.

If you would like more information on tours or volunteer opportunities you can visit http://www.howerhouse.org  or call them at 330-972-6909.

By: Michael Crossland
DAP intern

Discovering Downtown: Quaker Square

I’d been in town less than a month, and was looking for work, when a visit to the University of Akron’s career services office yielded a surprising bit of information – apparently there was a Superior Staffing office right in my very own building!

That’s the Quaker Square Inn on Broadway Street, by the way – the combination hotel, residence hall, shopping center, and office park that I, and a few hundred other UA students, call home. I thought I’d explored the place from end to end – from my room on the third floor to the quaint little comic book shop on the northeast corner – but I was soon to find out there’s more to Quaker Square than meets the eye.

I inquired at the front desk, and was told that the Superior office resided “down that way, at the end of the hall.” So I started walking – past Schumacher’s and Trackside Grille (two upscale eateries that call the lower level of the northeast quadrant home); past the General Store, which doubles – triples? – as a newsstand, toy shop, candy store, and train museum (!); past The Pie Factory and Zee’s, Quaker’s own little convenience store.  The first surprise came as I rounded the last corner and found myself facing an elevator.

The lady at the desk never said anything about an elevator, I thought. Turns out there were three whole levels to this place I never even knew existed. I went up one floor and found myself meandering down long, narrow hallways with office space on either side. Law offices. The River Valley Paper Company. E-Read Ohio. The Confucius Institute. What I didn’t find, curiously, was a Superior Staffing office.

Oh well, I thought. Must be on one of the other floors.

Finally, on the fourth floor – after wandering into every nook and cranny, including a short hall lined with restrooms and locked doors, at the bottom of a short flight of steps, where I’m fairly certain I was technically trespassing by that point – I found myself staring down a final long  hallway, with a raised area at the end. I was pretty sure that had to be either the staffing office, the fire exit, or possibly the way to Oz. As I proceeded, I found I could make out the Superior sign, the darkened windows, and finally, a tell-tale little square of white paper fixed to the door. I knew what awaited me, but for some reason I kept going. Kept walking ‘til I could make out the words.

The moral of the story? Call first, and never trust the lady at the front desk.

By: Tony Baker                                                                                                                   DAP Intern

Distinctly Downtown: Comunale Sculptural Concepts

At one point the Akron’s B.F. Goodrich Tire Factory employed over 30,000 people, encompassed 165 acres of floor space and even had its own fire department. Things are a bit quieter as I ascended the six floors alone in a freight elevator on March 13. B.F. Goodrich sold the factory in the 1980s after it exited the rubber industry, but this building isn’t all silent. New businesses and individuals moved into the factory after Goodrich’s departure to give it a second life.

One of these individuals is John Comunale; an Akron native who has been operating out of the old B.F. Goodrich Factory, now known as Canal Place, since 1991. He has 3,200 square feet on the sixth floor from which he operates his business Comunale Sculptural Concepts.

You might be more aware of Comunale’s work than you realize. His pieces dot the Akron landscape from the metal Zippy Sculpture outside of the Exchange Street McDonalds, to the clock that hangs on the Everett Building on South Main Street. Some of Comunale’s other work includes the sign outside Bricco, the Mocha Maiden sign and even restoration work done on the urns at the Mayer Building.

Comunale says his most recent works really put his abilities to the test. “I was working for 450 hours in about 6 weeks,” he said. The works that required so much attention are two 7-foot high-heeled shoes, one green one pink, made out of Styrofoam and fiberglass. Comunale constructed the shoes for a Barbie exhibit called, “Barbie^TM Life in the Dreamhouse,” currently on display in Berlin.

Comunale may be best known for his sculpture and sign work around Akron, but he does more than just that. He says that, “I’m Comunale Sculptures, but I don’t get to sculpt all that often.” Much of his time is spent creating custom railings for clients or on commissioned projects like the shoes.

In addition to creating railings, sculpture, and signs Comunale says he is trying to get the word out about his restorations talents. He says he believes there are a lot of people out there with worn religious icons and old statuary who just aren’t sure where to take it. Comunale said he began to think about this when he did repair work on an old plaster crucifix. “The owners told me they had a heck of a time finding anyone who could repair it,” he said. This isn’t the oldest thing Comunale has worked with either. He says that title belongs to a 7^th century seated Hindu sculpture that had been marred by black paint.

Comunale’s wide range of work is testament to his talents. Living a life that has allowed him to create movie props, sculpture, and now even giant high heels Comunale says, “I’ve been really lucky. I’ve been able to develop my skills and get to where I am and stay in business for 20 years.” You can view Comunale’s work at www.comsculpt.com or contact him at 330-376-2247 if you have any interest in commissioning him for one of his many talents.

By: Michael Crossland
DAP intern

Distinctly Downtown: Akron Police Museum

One day several years ago, a man claiming to be a doctor walked into the offices of the Akron Police Department’s Community Relations bureau, or so the story goes.

“How about I just leave this here, no questions asked?” he said, setting a large bag on the lieutenant’s desk. The lieutenant replied he was going to need just a little more information than that, so he asked the man to open the bag in front of him. The bag, as it turned out, contained a WWII-era German machine gun, which sits in the APD’s storage room to this day. (Owing to recent changes in gun control laws at the time, the anonymous doctor was afraid he might be arrested if anyone found out he owned the weapon).

The Akron Police Museum was established in 1967 or ’68, according to Jim Conley, a third-generation police officer and member of the department’s Community Relations bureau. “No one’s actually positive,” Conley says, “but it was somewhere around there.” The museum’s artifacts come from a variety of sources, including retired cops and the families of officers who have passed away, Conley said.

The museum’s exhibits are eclectic, sporting everything from photographs and uniforms spanning the department’s history, to a pair of poker machines and other gambling paraphernalia seized in a raid, to the Polyscribe and the Berkley Psychograph, old-school lie detectors dating from the 1960’s and 1930’s, respectively. They’ve got photos and newspaper clippings chronicling the capture of bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd in Akron in 1930; a collection of bizarre weapons seized in the aftermath of bar fights and domestic disputes; a vintage Harley Davidson patrol vehicle from the 1970’s; they’ve even got the headstone of Akron’s first police chief!

The Akron Police Museum is located in the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center at 217 South High St. Groups or individuals interested in a tour can contact Community Relations at (330)375-2390. More information about the department and its history (including lots of old photographs and newspaper clippings) can be found here.

By: Tony Baker
DAP intern

Distinctly Downtown: The Peanut Shoppe

Akron is home to many small businesses, but not many have been around as long as the Peanut Shoppe. It originally started in the 1930s as a retail shop for the Planter’s Peanuts Company. Sold to private owners in the 1950s, and then again the 80s, the Peanut Shoppe has been witness to a changing Akron for over 80 years.

The current owner, Marge Klein, attributes the shop’s longevity to the fact that, “Generation after generation of people have been coming here. So they enjoy coming in here and buying the nuts their grandpa or dad bought for them.”

The long history of the shop is evident from the moment you walk in. Photographs of Peanut Shoppe patrons are placed on nearly any space available on the walls. They bring to life the story of the shop over the years. Klein said that any customer is welcome to bring in any old photos; the only problem, they are running out of room.

The shop may have changed owners, and even buildings with a move across the street about 10 years ago, but things are still done largely the same at the Peanut Shoppe. The peanuts are still roasted in the old Planter’s roasters each morning and even the original scales are used to weigh out each customer’s order.

While the shop has retained the original look and feel, the products they offered have changed with the times. Originally the Planter’s Peanut shop only offered peanuts for sale, but the current incarnation of the shop offers a wide variety of nuts, chocolates, candies, and even ice cream starting in May. Klein says that some of her biggest sellers are honey roasted, cashews, and salted peanuts. While the candies and chocolates aren’t made in the shop there is a wide variety of treats from the traditional, like caramels and dark chocolate, to the adventurous, such as the chocolate covered espresso beans and dried bananas.

Klein says her shop relies heavily on the foot traffic in Downtown, something that’s not as easy as it used to be to come by in Downtown. That along with a 30 percent rise in the cost of peanuts last year has presented some challenges for the shop. Even with the downturn in traffic the shop still has a steady stream of customers, a testament to its popularity with locals.

Another draw of the Peanut Shoppe is the ability to buy small or big. Klein says she recognizes that people, especially some students, don’t have a lot of expendable income for treats. Klein says this is why they offer sales of just 1/8 lb for just 65 cents.

The historic atmosphere and fair prices make the Peanut Shoppe a truly unique business. This coupled with the fact that the Peanut Shoppe is only one of the three peanut stores left in Ohio make it one of Downtown’s must visit places.

By: Michael Crossland
DAP intern

Distinctly Downtown: ARTi Gras

Although Mardi Gras is over and the last king cake has been eaten, you can still experience art, music and theatre – New Orleans style – at ARTi Gras on Saturday, March 2 from 5-10 p.m. in Downtown Akron.

Downtown Akron Partnership continues the Downtown Art Works event series, in conjunction with the free monthly Downtown Akron Artwalk. Provided through a generous grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Art Works adds activity and live performances to enhance the existing Artwalk experience.

Enhancements include Creole Cinderella, an original production featuring NEOS Dance Theatre and the Ribtickler Band at the Akron-Summit County Public Library.  Though it follows the original storyline, The Creole Cinderella is set in pre-WW I New Orleans. It combines all the fun and frivolity of Mardi Gras with such classic tunes as “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “Basin Street Blues” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.”  This is an outrageous, silly and often touching retelling of the classic tale and is a delight for the entire family. Performances are scheduled in 20 minute segments starting at 6:30 p.m.  This schedule is designed to allow visitors to tour all Artwalk destinations.

Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts will present an upcycling fashion show and a boutique of upcycled products. Upcycling is a not-so-new concept of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products. Students will have items for sale ranging from bracelets and buttons to pencil holders and sketch books. Proceeds from the boutique will be donated to Summit Artspace. The fashion show will showcase shoes, belts and apparel made from plastic grocery bags, newspapers and postcards.

Guests will enjoy musical performances in an unplugged and social atmosphere by guitarists Brian Feltner, Major Lee and James Marron, flutist Jane Berkner with accompanying keyboardist, Stewart Freedman, singer Zach, Kyle Magilavy Jazz Combo and the University of Akron Jazz Fusion Band.

As a way to let guests show their love of the Artwalk, there will be a text-to-vote competition for favorite galleries. Votes will be tallied to determine the top three galleries. DAP will award gift certificates to these top three to three randomly selected individuals who voted for those galleries.

To tempt your taste buds, Cajun cuisine will be available for purchase from Zydeco Bistro at the Icehouse Complex, the Orange Trük at Summit Artspace and Ms. Julie’s Kitchen on the 2^nd floor of 43 Furnace.

Many Artwalk participants are getting into in the theme, including the Illusion Factory at Summit Artspace. Children of all ages are welcome to create colorful Mardi Gras masks.  Each child will craft their own mask and explore how to make the mask come to life with movement characterization and sound.

Also in keeping with the theme, Zeber-Martell Gallery and Clay Studio will provide a complimentary, handmade ceramic ARTi Gras fleur de lis pin to the first 50 people to stop in (limit one per person). Each pin is numbered, dated and signed.

It may not be the French Quarter, but the Downtown Akron arts district will be bustling with excitement through performances and experiences in a style all our own.

Distinctly Downtown: Illuminating Education at Akron’s Center for STEM Learning

Students linger outside Julie Hogarth’s classroom after the school day has ended. They are eager to get started on their after school project here at Akron’s Center for STEM Learning. STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. Hogarth doesn’t teach any of these subjects though, she is an art teacher.

The goal of STEM schools is to teach students how to think critically in order to solve real world problems. An outsider then might wonder what role an art teacher plays at a school with a focus on STEM. Hogarth says that the STEM based learning approach isn’t, “just having problem based learning, but it’s so much more. It’s those 21^st century skills. It’s cooperation; it’s that creative side of the kid too. It’s being able to work as a group and collaborate.”

The art projects Hogarth leads the students in accomplishes these things and more. She and her students take abstract ideas and apply the STEM principles to bring them into the real world. Often times these projects also aim to contribute to community needs.

For instance, one recent project Hogarth and her students developed are functional decorations for Downtown Akron events. They created solar powered light sculptures, which they called luminaries, to light the way during Downtown events like First Night Akron and the Akron Artwalk. Hogarth says the original idea was to create lighted cubes, but “we could buy those, and we wanted to be more creative.” That alongside the problem of parked cars being able to block the cubes led to them developing the ideas for the stands. From there she and her students experimented with materials from galvanized tubes to pantyhose. Hogarth says this project is an example of the “entire design process which is what we do in art, but they do that in engineering too. You sketch, you come up with your idea, you try it, you rework it, you go back and redesign.” The results were 15 five- foot floral sculptures that can run off solar or battery power and will mark destinations for Downtown Akron events.  

Schools like Akron’s Center for STEM Learning and others are leading the way when it comes to getting more young people involved in the sciences in America. More support is coming from Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds Initiative. The projects goal is to improve perception and participation in the STEM related fields. They do this through PSA announcements, community involvement, and grants that sponsor projects like the luminaries.

By introducing creative and hands on learning into the classroom, Hogarth, teachers like her, and businesses are showing the young students of today that the STEM related fields aren’t dry and boring subjects. In addition these students are realizing that STEM related fields can not only benefit them but those around them in the community.

By: Michael Crossland
DAP intern

Distinctly Downtown: Zeber-Martell

For over 20 years Zeber-Martell Gallery & Clay Studio has been a fixture at their location on 43 Furnace Street in Akron. Owned and operated by Claudia Zeber-Martell and Michael Martel the gallery features a collection of unique and expertly hand crafted artwork.

A gallery expansion completed in July of 2012 has only enhanced the experience of the Zeber-Martell gallery. Their windowed storefront invites passersby to explore the shop even before they enter. When you do enter you can explore the expansive showroom that features a variety of different works. Much of the work is done by Claudia and Michael, but the gallery also features artwork from eight other artists both local and from across the United States. The works themselves are created from clay, stainless steel, fiber, and glass. The artwork created is just as diverse as the materials used. The gallery offers functional art such as lighting, mugs, and jewelry as well as decorative art like vases, intricately designed tiled wall art, and holiday decorations.  Custom commissions are also accepted by request.

Zeber-Martell gallery also participates in the Downtown Akron Artwalk. The Artwalk takes place on the first Saturday of each month (except January) from 5-10 p.m. and features nearly two dozen venues. Some venues, such as Zeber-Martell, feature live music and shopping. Other destinations offer art exhibitions or dining. The city also offers free trolley service during the Artwalk allowing visitors to easily find and explore as many venues as they like.

Aside from the Artwalk Zeber-Martell offers events throughout the year. In the fall and spring they offer classes that instruct participants on creating decorative tile arrangements. In May they will be offering specials for Mother’s Day. During the next several holiday seasons their 12 Days of Christmas event will showcase commemorative Akron decorations, including a display holder, for customers to purchase. They plan to debut some of this new holiday work later this year in October.

Zeber-Martell Galleries & Clay Studio is one of the hidden gems of Akron’s Downtown. If you’re looking for a unique gift or simply want to explore what Akron’s artistic side has to offer its residents Zeber-Martell is the place to go. You can view some of the artwork available at the gallery at zeber-martell.com or at zeber-martell.blogspot.com. Their hours of operation are Monday through Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.  They can be reached at 330-253-3808.

By: Michael Crossland
DAP intern