Description: Taken by U.S. Film Service photographer Edwin Locke, ca. 1937, this photograph shows a rubber yard in Akron, Ohio. Numerous rubber companies operated in or near Akron, Ohio, making this city the "Rubber Capital of the World." Among the large-scale rubber producers in the area were the B.F. Goodrich Company, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. The advent of the bicycle and the automobile sparked an economic boom which drew workers not only from surrounding counties, but from neighboring states as well. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F10_003_001
Subjects: Akron (Ohio); Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Rubber industry and trade; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse of photograph reads: "District 5, Summit Co." and "Dist. 6 files" This photograph could be of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Plant, located at 1144 East Market Street, or possibly the B.F. Goodrich Company Plant at 500 South Main Street, both in Akron. The building appears to be 6 stories tall and situated possibly on a river. A clock tower is visible on the left, behind the buildings, and a boat of some kind is blurred by movement on the right. High voltage power lines stretch across the water. More information needed to properly identify this building. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F09_024_1
Subjects: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio; Akron (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company--Buildings--Ohio--Akron--1920-1930; B.F. Goodrich Company, Akron, Ohio
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows Howard Street in Akron, Ohio, in 1890. Streetcar rails run down the middle of the busy street. Horse-drawn wagons are parked on both sides of the street, and pedestrians are visible on the sidewalk. An advertising banner hangs above the street. Patches of snow are scattered on the street and walkways. Telegraph/telephone poles line the street. Miller & Roche, wholesale and retail grocers, were located on Howard Street. One of their establishments is visible in the left foreground. Another establishment in this photograph is S.E. Allen, a drugstore located at 193 Howard Street (far right, middle). By the mid-20th century, Howard Street become the center of African-American culture. It was home to many of the city's black-owned business and entertainment establishments, and provided an atmosphere in which minority-owned businesses could thrive. Attracted to the vitality of the neighborhood, entrepreneur George Mathews (1887-1982) established a barbershop here in 1920 and in 1925 opened the adjoining Mathews Hotel. The hotel quickly became the anchor of the Howard Street district. Mathews' success allowed him to endow a scholarship fund at the University of Akron in 1964. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06153
Subjects: Akron (Ohio); Streets--Ohio; Small business--Ohio; Businesses; African Americans--Ohio
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: A photograph of the Portage Hotel in Akron, Ohio. A view of the cafe with murals on the walls. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F09_004_001
Subjects: Akron (Ohio); Hotels; Restaurants; Dinners and dining
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: The caption reads: "Portage Hotel - Akron. Photograph of rubber mural in "Rubber room" representing the transfer of seedlings from Brazil to the East Indies. At left, a cotton plantation in center and Charles Goodyear's experiment in vulcanization at right. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F09_008_001
Subjects: Akron (Ohio); Mural painting and decoration--United States.
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows a soap box derby race that was held in Akron, Ohio, during the 1930s. Three cars are coasting down a hill on what appears to be a residential street. Spectators line both sides of the street; telephone poles are located along the left side of the street. A man wearing a uniform (possibly a state trooper) stands in the foreground, directly opposite the lead car. The Soap Box Derby had its origins during the 1930s. Children in Dayton, Ohio, manufactured their own cars. They would build these cars from discarded lumber and other items and then race the autos down hills in the community. The cars were not powered by gasoline or any other type of fuel. The cars simply rolled down the hill with a child inside. The winner was the child that reached the bottom of the hill first. Myron Scott, a Dayton reporter, covered one of these races. He decided that children across the United States could enjoy this activity, and he began to promote it across the country. In 1934, Dayton held the first "All-American Race," where soap box racers from across the country brought their creations to race. The following year, the race moved to Akron, Ohio, due to its hillier terrain. Since 1935, the All-American Soap Box Derby has taken place in Akron. In 1936, Akron city officials decided to build a permanent facility for the race. With the assistance of the Works Progress Administration, one of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal programs, the city completed Derby Downs, a soap box racetrack. Thousands of children from across the United States and from other nations have come to race their creations at Derby Downs every year since the track's completion. In 1936, Akron city officials decided to build a permanent facility for the race. With the assistance of the Works Progress Administration, one of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal programs, the city completed Derby Downs, a soap box racetrack. Thousands of children from across the United States and from other nations have come to race their creations at Derby Downs every year since the track's completion. The only exception to this was a four-year period during World War II, when many activities, including soap box derbies, came to a halt so that people could concentrate on the war effort. Today, children compete for college scholarships in addition to other prizes. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06152
Subjects: All-American Soap Box Derby; Coaster cars; Soap box derbies--Ohio; Akron (Ohio)
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Akron, Ohio, Band at mess during Spanish American War, ca. 1898. The band was possibly part of the 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry formed from the 8th Ohio National Guard and mustered into service in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03367
Subjects: Summit County (Ohio); Ohio History--Military Ohio; Spanish-American War, 1898
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Interior view of the Lemaster Pool Hall on 1271 East Market Street in Akron, Ohio, ca. 1920-1929. The pool hall is listed in the Akron City Directory as Lemaster Bros., Cigars, etc. for the years 1922, 1925 and 1926-1927. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03345
Subjects: Summit County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: District #5, 902 City Bldg., Akron, Ohio, Ashland Co. It is not certain that the structure pictured is the 'City Building' of Akron also, Akron is in Summit County. After the infamous riot of 1900, Akron's City Building, which contained the prison, was rebuilt. The Works Progress Administration in Ohio as part of the Federal Writers Project used this address as a base of operation for the area. In the 1950s the address served as Headquarters of Civil Defense of Summit County. Photo taken in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F10_001_001
Subjects: Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Stan Hywet Hall in Akron. The former "country estate" of the Frank A. Seiberling family, Stan Hywet Hall is one of the finest examples of Tudor Revival architecture in the United States. Set on an old stone quarry, the name Stan Hewet is Old English for stone quarry. Frank A Seiberling was the founder of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06891
Subjects: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio); Architecture
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Portrait of Mrs. Katherine B. Claypole of Akron, Ohio. Claypole (1846-1901) was included on the "Ohio State Honor Roll" from the League of Women Voters of Ohio, ca. 1930, which listed prominent Ohio women involved in the suffrage movement. Her brief biography from the Honor Roll reads: "Katherine Benedicta Claypole (Mrs. Edward W.) Mrs. Claypole, of Akron, who did pioneer suffrage work for many years in Ohio and who was secretary of the Ohio Suffrage Association at the time the Ohio School bill was passed, was a member of the National American Woman's Suffrage Association, the Ohio State Suffrage Association, and the American Association for the advancement of Science." This photograph comes from the League of Women Voters of Ohio Collection. The League of Women Voters was first formed at the national level in early 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt, President of the National Woman Suffrage Association. Soon, additional leagues began to form at the state and local level, with the League of Women Voters of Ohio being organized in May 1920 in Columbus. The League was first formed to empower women to use their newfound right to vote, and today its primary purpose remains citizen education. To this goal, it supports voter registration efforts, provides information on candidates and issues, sponsors debates and offers publications on public policy and voter engagement topics. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS354_B10_LWVO_KatherineClaypole
Subjects: Women--Suffrage; Social movements; League of Women Voters of Ohio; Suffragists; Activism
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio);
 

Description: This broadside, published by the Soldiers' Aid Society of Akron, is a call to action to the "Loyal Women of Summit County." The text explains the purpose of and duties performed by societies and the Army Sanitary Commission, asks women to form local societies and instruct people on how to contribute goods for the Western Armies. The broadside has the names Mrs. E. Oviatt, Secretary, and Mrs. C.P. Wolcott, President of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Akron, at the bottom. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04292
Subjects: United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Ohio History--Military Ohio; Soldiers--Ohio; Women--Societies and clubs--Ohio; Women--Ohio; Akron (Ohio)
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)