Refurbished Firestone sign, an Akron icon for decades, officially lights up
Akron's iconic Firestone sign is lit up at its new home off Firestone Parkway.
The large refurbished sign, now outfitted with energy-friendly LED lights, was officially lit up Friday afternoon atop Bridgestone Americas new Advanced Tire Production Center, an IndyCar tire factory, at 1670 Firestone Parkway.
The iconic sign was taken down in late 2020 from its decades-long home on top of the former Firestone One plant less than a mile north of the new tire plant. The old tire factory and former Firestone headquarters is now part of an industrial park.
Bridgestone Americas replaced the old neon lights with state-of-the-art LEDs and otherwise cleaned up and refurbished the lettering. When the work was completed, the company in September put the Firestone sign on top of its new race tire plant. (The plant is scheduled to open next year.)
Bridgestone Americas timed the officially lighting up of the sign for the Friday shift change at its 100-acre Akron campus. The Nashville, Tenn.-based company, which owns the Firestone brand, has about 600 Akron employees.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Bridgestone's refurbished Firestone sign lights up on new Akron site
