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Mark J. Price: If Pittsburgh can save 12 smokestacks, why can't Akron save two?

Smokestacks from the former Homestead Works steel mill near Pittsburgh have been preserved as part of the Waterfront shopping center.
Smokestacks from the former Homestead Works steel mill near Pittsburgh have been preserved as part of the Waterfront shopping center.

Ron Ott has an idea, and he hopes it’s not too late.

Like many other local residents, the Barberton man was dismayed to learn that Akron City Council voted this month to demolish the former B.F. Goodrich power plant and its iconic smokestacks.

Sections of the building date back to 1861 and its century-old smokestacks are symbols of Akron’s proud past as the Rubber Capital of the World. At its peak in 1950, Goodrich employed 14,700 production workers in Akron.

The smokestacks originally stood 195 feet tall, but the northern one was shortened 100 feet in 2017 over structural concerns.

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Akron Public Service Director Chris Ludle explained that the mortar joints have further deteriorated and the brick structures are compromised, leading to the council action.

But Akron isn’t the first city with old smokestacks at defunct factories.

Mark J. Price, Beacon Journal reporter.
Mark J. Price, Beacon Journal reporter.

Ott wishes local officials would look east toward Pennsylvania.

He sent us a photo of the Waterfront, an open-air shopping center in the Homestead area of Pittsburgh. Located on the Monongahela River, it’s the former site of a steel mill that operated from 1879 to 1986.

The Park Corp. of Cleveland bought the 550-acre property and tore down much of the mill, but preserved a row of 12 smokestacks from the 1940s.

Continental Real Estate and Nationwide Realty Investors, both of Columbus, turned the site into a $300 million development with stores, restaurants, hotels and entertainment facilities, including a movie theater.

The 12 brick smokestacks, each 130 feet high, serve as a backdrop for the Waterfront and are brightly illuminated at night for all to see.

“We have viewed these stacks several times, with other parts of the steel factories left, and retail businesses being built around it,” Ott noted. “There are a lot of pride stories on the history of this area.”

Pittsburghers pay tribute to the city’s steel history while embracing the modern era at the Waterfront. The smokestacks have become iconic features.

So if Pittsburgh can preserve 12 stacks, why can’t Akron save one or two?

“If these Goodrich smokestacks can be restored in any way, our future generations would appreciate it,” Ott said.

It’s not looking good. The Akron structures are expected to be demolished by early next year.

Ott knows all too well about the loss of historic structures.

“We live in Barberton, and people remember the O.C. Barber mansion and other buildings he built, which could have been restored and shown for future generations,” he noted. “The loss of this O.C. Barber mansion is one that many in Barberton miss.”

Future of former ABJ building

Speaking of local landmarks in peril, it’s no secret that the former Akron Beacon Journal building at 44 E. Exchange St. is in jeopardy of being torn down for parking.

The building’s owner, Michael Mouron, a real estate executive from Alabama, would like to find a tenant or buyer by early January. He has expressed hope that someone will step forward to save the 1929 building.

We bet he didn’t expect that someone to be a college student.

Aaron Uhl, a University of Akron senior studying social studies education, is a tour guide at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens and believes that the former estate of Goodyear co-founder F.A. Seiberling is a case study in what can happen when the community comes together to save a historic building.

In the mid-1950s, there were talks about demolishing the famous mansion. Now it is the sixth-largest tourable home in the United States, he noted.

Uhl has contacted Mouron and city officials about the old newspaper building’s importance to the community. He also has started a petition at Change.org: www.change.org/p/save-the-akron-beacon-journal-building-don-t-tear-down-history-for-parking

The UA student would like to gather 200 signatures so the petition will be more likely to show up in recommendations. As of the holiday weekend, 117 people had signed it.

Uhl maintains that it is imperative at the very least that the 1929 portion of the building remains intact.

“I am currently working with other community partners to try and find ways to make this a winning situation for all involved,” he wrote. “At the end of the day, it is Akronites that will need this win, and they will need your help.”

Who’s with him?

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com.

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Reader wishes Akron would save its smokestacks like Pittsburgh