Akron Firestone Plant 1, Lawndale schoolhouse join Ohio list of endangered historic sites
Two Akron landmarks — the former Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. factory and an old schoolhouse in Kenmore — have landed on Preservation Ohio’s list of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites for 2024.
The nonprofit group, which bills itself as the state’s oldest historic preservation organization, included the buildings on a list of 14 structures that it considers to be at risk.
Preservation Ohio accepts nominations from citizens, historical societies and other groups that want to raise awareness about certain sites. According to the statewide panel, the properties include such factors as demolition threats, abandonment, neglectful owners, deterioration, obsolete use, and a lack of funding for repairs, location or development.
Firestone factory makes list
Firestone’s Plant 1 at 1200 Firestone Parkway in Akron is on the endangered list. The city-owned property has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2014.
According to the nomination form: “The buff-brick building was built in 1910 with the addition of a clock tower in the 1920s. The plant was home to the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company and stands today as a relic of Akron’s rubber heritage.”
The vacant factory, which encompasses 1 million square feet, originally employed up to 1,800 workers. Bridgestone Americas removed the famous red Firestone sign from atop the building in 2020.
Firestone Plant 2, built in 1918, was razed in 1980. Akron officials expect the demolition of Plant 1 to top $7.5 million.
“The city currently owns it and it’s been vacant for about a decade or so, but the building is salvageable,” Preservation Ohio reported. “The back of the building could possibly be selectively demolished and the front building with the clock tower can be adaptively reused. Local preservation groups are involved in advocating for a future of the building.”
Akron’s Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission could approve the city’s demolition plan at its meeting at 9 a.m. July 16 in City Council chambers at the Akron Municipal Building, 166 S. High St.
One-room school in Kenmore
The former Lawndale schoolhouse in Kenmore is a much smaller landmark, but no less at risk. The 1½-story, 2,040-square-foot structure is in the 1200 block of West Wilbeth Road.
“Building was built as an original one-room schoolhouse for Coventry Township in 1896,” the nominating form explains. “When the Village of Kenmore was carved out of Coventry Township it became part of the Kenmore School District until it was replaced by a bigger school in 1912. The bigger school was closed in 2016 and left to rot until it burned down in 2022.”
A 1911 photograph shows more than 50 pupils standing outside the schoolhouse with a teacher. Today, a no-trespassing sign is posted on the dilapidated building.
“This is one of the last original one-room schoolhouses left in the area,” Preservation Ohio reported. “The Kenmore Historical Society is prepared to make an investment and have fundraisers in order to have the financial means necessary to make an improvement on the building.”
The Ohio endangered list also includes the Hulett Iron Ore Unloaders in Cleveland, the Hessler Court and Hessler Road Historic District in Cleveland, the former Lazarus and Kroger buildings in Columbus, Farm Crest Bakeries Building in Columbus, Grace Church/Gabriel’s Place in Cincinnati, the Hoyt Building in North Fairfield, A.B. Graham Memorial Center in Conover, Hancock County Probate Court in Findlay, Hill Memorial at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Masonic Block in Caledonia, the Octagon House in Tiffin and the A.A. Cunningham House in Tiffin.
Being on the list is no guarantee that a structure will be saved.
Two of this year’s sites are already gone. The 1947 Farm Crest Bakeries Building was razed in May. The A.A. Cunningham House, which dated back to the turn of the 20th century, was torn down in June.
Preservation Ohio has compiled the list for 31 years. For more information, visit www.preserveohio.com.
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Preservation Ohio ranks two Akron landmarks as endangered
