B.F. Goodrich smokestacks being demolished in Akron
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
If you want to see what’s left of the former B.F. Goodrich smokestacks, you had better hurry.
The bricks are falling.
Demolition is underway at the landmark structures off South Main Street in downtown Akron.
The Eslich Wrecking Co. of Louisville began tearing down the two structures Oct. 10. More than a century old, the smokestacks originally stood 195 feet tall, but the northern tower was shortened in 2017 because of structural concerns.
Eslich is using a Liebherr telescopic mobile crane with a lattice-style jib to nibble away at the bricks. Admired for generations, the twin stacks each featured the word “GOODRICH” painted vertically in white until the northern tower was reduced to “RICH” five years ago.
As of Thursday, the southern tower spelled only “DRICH.”
A demolition crew began work in July on razing the former power plant at the base of the stacks. Sections of the brick building dated back to 1861, a decade before the B.F. Goodrich Co. was founded.
New Yorker Benjamin Franklin Goodrich (1841-1888) established the business in 1870 when Akron was a mere village of 10,000. He purchased an empty factory on the east side of the Ohio & Erie Canal and opened the first rubber plant west of the Allegheny Mountains. The following year, he built a two-story factory for 20 workers.
The company’s early products included hoses, belting, billiard cushions, fruit jar rings and other articles. By the late 1890s, that included bicycle tires, carriage tires and automobile tires.
The complex grew to dozens of buildings.
At its peak in 1950, B.F. Goodrich employed 14,700 production workers in Akron. The company reduced its workforce over the next 25 years until there were around 6,500 workers by 1975.
In 1987, Goodrich announced it would stop making tires in Akron, laying off 790 workers, closing three manufacturing divisions and transferring work to nonunion plants in North Carolina and Florida.
The city acquired ownership of the old power plant at 538 S. Main St. in the late 1980s and used it to help supply steam heat and chilled water to downtown businesses. The city vacated the building by 2019.
In November 2022, Akron authorized the demolition of the structures, noting that the smokestacks lacked the structural integrity to stand alone.
There will be no souvenirs. The bricks cannot be repurposed because they contain hazardous materials such as asbestos and mercury.
Ohio awarded Akron a $4.9 million brownfield grant in 2022 for the removal of the structures. In all, the demolition project will cost $6.6 million.
Stephanie Marsh, chief communications officer for Akron, said a licensed contractor will remove the rubble under the oversight of a city consultant. A licensed lab will analyze the materials for contamination, and the bricks will be hauled to a licensed construction and demolition landfill.
The demolition of the smokestacks is expected to take four to six weeks and be completed by mid to late November, Marsh said.
The entire site should be cleared by January.
Over the summer, city officials sought the public’s input on the best way to pay homage to the B.F. Goodrich smokestacks after their removal.
Akron’s plans to redevelop the area will be announced.
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com
More: Former industrial plant razed on edge of downtown Akron
Local history: Demolished Akron factory has a secret past
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: B.F. Goodrich smokestacks being razed in Akron
