Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan reveals new city logo during State of the City address

Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan revealed a new logo for the city during his State of the City address Wednesday morning: a rubber worker holding a tire based on a statue installed at a downtown intersection two years ago.

Horrigan called it "the last piece that I leave to the city of Akron" and "a new, modern city logo that I believe represents the most important thing about Akron, the most important thing: that's its people."

The banner-shaped logo — revealed at the end of a promotional video played at the end of Horrigan's address, narrated by Horrigan and produced by Pritt Entertainment Group — features the silhouette of the tire and rubber worker in white on an orange background, with "Akron" in white letters underneath on a blue background and the entire banner outlined in blue.

It also features 10 lug nuts in the center of the tire, representing the city's 10 wards.

"Akronites help each other. We work together, and we stick up for the little guy," Horrigan says in the video. "We are gritty, tenacious, innovative and passionate. We are risk-takers and lifelong learners. It's in our DNA. Always has been. We are the rubber capital of the world, and we decide what to do next. Akron isn't Akron without you."

The city's logo was created by the city’s communications and media supervisor Jake Bell, who based the logo on the bronze rubber worker statue at Main and Mill streets that was installed in 2021. Created by Ohio sculptor Alan Cotrill, the statue was modeled after the 1920s tire worker on the cover of “Wheels of Fortune,” a book by former Beacon Journal writers David Giffels and Steve Love.

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"To me, I think it's very difficult to escape who you are," Horrigan responded to moderator and Love Akron Executive Director Kemp Boyd when asked why the rubber worker was chosen as the city's new symbol. "We didn't necessarily want to shake who we are...It doesn't just represent just the tire part of it. It's just the entire, we're makers and we fix things and we tinker around and then we do other things. That's us. And I think it was pretty symbolic to use that."

The city also plans to update its website this summer.

The city's previous logo was an American flag-style shield with "Akron" in black capital letters, surrounded by a blue circle that said "All-America City 1981 1995 2008," separated by white stars.

During his address Wednesday, Horrigan also announced a downtown parade at 2 p.m. Sunday to celebrate championship wins by the Buchtel and Hoban high school boys basketball teams.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Mayor Horrigan reveals new logo during State of the City address