Laurel's Travels - Akron, Ohio

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Laurel Lynn Productions
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On this day I drove downtown to meet my brother for lunch. Only, we did not end up eating lunch because nothing was open in downtown Akron on a Saturday afternoon. There are a few restaurants but they do not open until the evening hours. My brother took me on a private tour of the John S. Knight Center where he works. We then walked around downtown and I was taken on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Civic Theatre.

John S. Knight Center
http://www.johnsknightcenter.org/DefaultJsk.aspx

The Center is Akron's convention center. It offers concerts, exhibitions, and trade shows.

Image of inside looking out within
the Center's rotunda.

OK, this may be hard on the eyes,
but this is a view of outside taken
through the Center's window blinds.

John S. Knight Center

Inside the center looking north towards the Art Museum (the building that looks like a plane on top of it).

After leaving the John S. Knight Center we walked north on S. High Street walking towards E. Market
Street. We then turned left on E. Market Street and walked down a block and turned left again on
Main Street heading roughly south towards the Civic Theatre and Lock 3 area.

Akron Art Museum located on One South High
http://www.akronartmuseum.org/

Carnegie Library on 69 E. Market and
the corner of High Street.

Castle Hall Building (ca. 1878) at
57 E. Market and the corner of
High Street. Home of Crave Restaurant.

Facade on the building where Huntington
Mortgage is located at 39 E. Market

Building on E. Market	Federal Building on the corner of E. Market and Main.
Akron Savings and Loan Building on the corner of Bowery and S. Main Street. This building open in 1924 replaced the prior building built in 1888.	The YMCA opened March 10, 1931, providing a home for young men and a place to exercise and social activities. It was renovated into upscale apartments in the 1980's.

First Merit Tower (formerly the Central Depositors Bank and Trust) was opened July 23, 1931 and was Akron's first skyscraper.

Cascade Plaza located on top of a garage next to
the First Merit Tower. When weather permits,
they have lunch hour concerts here.

Greystone Hall built in 1917 was the former
Masonic Temple. Located at 103 S. High Street,
corner of S. High and E. Mill St across the street
from the John S. Knight Center.
Renovated in the early 2000's.

Building on Broadway Street behind the
John S. Knight Center.

Quaker Oats Cereal Factory at
120 E. Mills. This is now a hotel that
has rooms that are completely round.
It is part of the University of Akron and is
called Quaker Square Inn
http://www.quakersquareakron.com/

The Civic Theatre (formally Loew's Theatre)
182 S. Main
http://www.akroncivic.com/

The Civic was built in 1929 as Loew's Theatre. Architect John Eberson designed it to resemble a Morrish Garden.

The first thing that struck me when I entered the theatre, was how similar this theatre was to the recently renovated Plaza Theatre in El Paso, Texas (originally built in 1930). While the Plaza Theatre uses a a Spanish decor throughout, the layout and the ornate details throughout the two theatres are similar. I invite the reader to visit the websites of both theatres to view the pictures. As far as I can tell from reading, the theatre in El Paso was not a Loew's Theatre.

Plaza Theatre - El Paso, Texas
http://elpasolive.com/venues/plaza_theatre