Ward 5 Akron City Councilman Johnnie Hannah remembers when the former Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. Plant 1 was operating.
Hanna, who grew up in the area, remembers the smell of the rubber coming from the plant, the soot settling on his mother’s freshly laundered sheets hanging on the line to dry. He worked on the plant’s dock, he said, and remembers using the clock tower to discern how much time he had until he was late to work.
Wiliam Reynolds speaks during a Sept. 11 hearing on the proposed demolition of the former Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. Pant 1 building in Akron.
Now, Hannah and the rest of Akron City Council are tasked with determining the historic building’s fate after the city administration appealed the Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission recommendation to prevent the building’s destruction.
“If we can’t save Plant 1,” Hannah said, “it would be a great idea to save and preserve that giant clock, because if we don’t, time will slip away from Plant 1.”
A small number of residents attended a Sept. 11 hearing on the future of the building. They urged against its razing, citing its historical importance to Akron — a city indelibly connected to the rubber industry — and presented ideas to the city about how the site could be redeveloped.
Mark Smith of the Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission rattled off a litany of mixed-use options that he said gel with use restrictions placed on the site by the Ohio EPA. His suggestions include a recreation and wellness center, a heritage and cultural center and an education and workforce development center.
Smith questioned whether the city really did all it could to make the property attractive to developers.
Jeff Wilhite, who represents Summit County Council District 4, asked city council to “pump the brakes on this if we can.”
“I would ask that we take an opportunity to look at the clock tower portion,” Wilhite said.
Council President Margo Sommerville asked if it was feasible to save some of the building’s architectural features — the clock face for example — for use on whatever structure might replace the factory.
William Reynolds said the cost to save the clock tower portion of the building didn’t matter to him when compared to the importance of saving a piece of Akron’s history.
“In our city,” he said, “history is not just written in books, it is carved into brick, steel and stone. It is in the walls of our factories, and our storefronts, and our neighborhoods, and in the symbols that remind us of who we are — and standing all among them is the Firestone clock tower. That tower is not just part of a building. It is a living monument to the men and women who built Akron with their hands, their sweat and their determination.”
Steve Charles spoke in favor of the demolition. Charles said he worked at the plant for 40 years. The money spent to save the dilapidated building isn’t worth it, he said.
Ward 7 City Councilman Donnie Kammer stood with the dissenters.
He said Akron Mayor Shammas Malik’s administration had been opaque about its plans for the building, and that steps should have been taken to engage Ward 7 residents on the issue. Kammer said he was kept out of the loop until “the 11th hour,” but did eventually hear from the administration.
Malik declined to comment.
“I think we really need to pump the brakes,” Kammer said, echoing Wilhite’s comments. For a decade, Kammer said, he’d been told that the front of the building would be saved. That’s no longer the case.
Kyle Julien, city of Akron Planning Director, speaks during a Sept. 11 hearing on the proposed demolition of the former Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. Pant 1 building in Akron.
Akron Planning Director Kyle Julien said the city explored numerous options to preserve all or some of the 115-year-old building, but officials concluded anything other than complete demolition was too expensive a proposition. The difference between destroying the entire building and preserving the front portion and clock tower was $5 million, he said.
“I want people to know — out there, especially,” he said, gesturing to the public seated in chambers, “this is not an easy decision that we are coming to. We have put the time in to evaluate all of our options.”
The future of Akron’s historic Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. Plant 1 building and clock tower was discussed during a Sept. 11 public hearing in Akron.
The plant was built in 1910 as a factory and office. In 2013, it became an Akron Historic Landmark and was added in 2014 to the National Register of Historic Places. In June of 2024, the preservation commission approved the demolition of the structure’s three rear wings, planning to preserve the building’s front facade.
The building is 230,400 square feet, with the iconic clock tower occupying roughly 6,300 square feet.
Per the Akron Municipal Code, council has 15 days — Sept. 26 — to issue a written decision.
At the hearing, council members Sharon Connor, Hannah, Jeff Fusco, Sommerville and Eric Garrett expressed support for Kammer’s position. The council has 13 total members.
Fusco pointed out that if the council decided to save the clock tower, the $5 million it would take would have to come out of next year’s capital budget.
“There’s going to be sacrifice,” he said, “if we choose to go in that direction.”
Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron resident plead with City Council to save Firestone plant, clock