Description: This aerial photograph shows the Akron, Ohio, industrial district, including views of East Akron, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company plants 1, 2, and 3, and the Zeppelin Hangar (later known as the Goodyear Airdock) in the background. To the left of the Airdock in the upper left corner is Akron Municipal Airport. Akron Municipal Airport began operating in 1929 on property belonging to Bain Ecarius "Shorty" Fulton, and the airport terminal opened its doors for commercial travel on June 15, 1931. Fulton worked for the airport as manager for 34 before retiring in 1962; it was later renamed Akron Fulton International Airport in his honor. The B.F. Goodrich Rubber Company Plant, located at 500 South Main Street, was Akron’s oldest rubber factory and one of the world’s largest, producing more than 30,000 kinds of rubber articles besides automobile tires. Occupying 275 acres, the plant had 116 buildings with 165 acres of floor space. In addition, the Goodrich Company operated the Miller rubbery factory on South High Street and several regional plants. The Goodrich plant had its own utilities, waterworks, service departments, hospital, electric transportation system, and a subway. 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_B08F02_028_001
Subjects: Akron (Ohio); Rubber industry and trade--Ohio--Akron; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company; Airports; Aerial photography
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)