The Akron Metropolitan Park District – now named Summit Metro Parks – was established in December 1921. The park's early board of commissioners – which included tire baron Frank A. Seiberling – hired the well-known landscape architect brothers, John and Fredrick Olmsted, to plan the new parks.
In 1926 Harold S. Wagner was named the first Director-Secretary of the new parks system. In Wagner's first five years leading the city's parks, he built the system up to 1,600 acres. Some of those early parks included the Gorge, Sand Run, and Furnace Run.
By the time Wagner retired in 1958, the park system had grown to 3,760 acres and was drawing out more than 800,000 people each year.
Today if you enjoy the 40,000 daffodils that bloom along the Wagner Daffodil Trail, you owe a debt of gratitude to Wagner and his wife, who planted the first bulbs in the 1930s.
The 60s and 70s saw great growth for the park system. The reservations increased to over 6,000 acres and included the F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm and Cascade Valley, among others. It was also during this time that the Fall Hiking Spree was first introduced – an event that is wildly popular to this day.
Now, Executive Director Lisa King manages the 14,300 acre-park system with over 125 miles of trails – including more than 22 miles of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. With an average of 5 million visits each year, the Summit Metro Parks continue to grow and connect visitors with the great outdoors.
The Summit Metro Parks isn't Akron's only park system. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park runs through Akron as well.
When the Olmsted brothers first surveyed the area for Akron's new park system, they reported the recreational potential of the Cuyahoga Valley. About 40 years later that potential was threatened by development. John R Daily - then Director-Secretary of the Summit Metro Parks - helped acquire the land to save it from Akron's sprawl.
In 1974 President Gerald Ford advanced that protection by signing the bill that established the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. For the next 30 years, more land was purchased for the new park, historic structures were restored, and activities for public enjoyment were planned – all tirelessly championed by Congressman Ralph Regula. In the year 2000, Regula helped to change the park's name to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Today the park protects 33,000 acres of land and welcomes about 2.2 million visitors annually, making it one of the most visited National Parks. The park offers hiking, biking, wildlife watching, canoeing, and even a scenic railroad ride.
City life, or the great outdoors – the choice is yours in Akron.
LeBron James may be just a kid from Akron, but he's not the only one to gain fame in the wider world.
Clark Gable stepped off a bus in Akron in 1919 looking for work. He found it quickly, working at Firestone and later at Miller Rubber. It was also in Akron that he saw his first play and fell in love with theatre. Gable was only in Akron a little more than a year, but during that time he took a job working at the Akron Music Hall and even landed a small role in a play. However, most people who remembered his time at the theatre didn't see him as a breakout actor.
Dr. Bob Smith was a physician and a surgeon but became one of Akron's most beloved personalities as the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. June 10, 1935 is celebrated at the anniversary of the founding of the organization and members from all over the work travel to Akron to visit his home in Highland Square while celebrating the legacy he left behind.
You may know John Lithgow from the TV series 3rd Rock From the Sun, or the movie Terms of Endearment, however at one point during his childhood he lived on the estate grounds of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens. Lithgow's family moved to Akron in 1959 when his father became director of the historic home. He got his first exposure to Shakespeare when his father organized a Shakespearean festival. From that moment, Lithgow was in love with the bard and acting. Sadly the family only lived in Akron for about 2 years before his father was ousted from his position as the board argued over the direction the estate should have been headed.
At age 8, Melina Kanakaredes, took the stage for the first time at Akron's Weathervane Playhouse in a production of Tom Sawyer. She would grow up to play Dr. Sydney Hansen on the tv show Providence and Det. Stella Bonasera on CSI: NY.
While Paul Tazewell was at Buchtel High School in the 80s he designed costumes for his school's production of “The Wiz”. Later in his career he won an Emmy for his costume designs for the television production of “The Wiz Live!”. However, Tazewell is probably best known as the Tony Award winning designer of the costumes for the Broadway musical, “Hamilton.”
Rita Dove was a passionate reader and also graduated from Buchtel High School. In 1987, she won a Pulitzer Prize for poetry, and then in 1992 she was named the United States Poet Laureate – an office she held from 1993-1995.
Lesbian comedian Rhea Butcher got her big break in 2016 when her ground-breaking series “Take My Wife” was picked up for streaming distribution.