The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 129

Tills Tliii, Time Local history First Central Tower rises above the Akron skyline during construction in 1930 and 1931. Scraping the sky by Mark J. Price ivj.pi jp' I- A IM III i jr by brick, bearn by beam, Akron's first skyscraper soared above the city during the depths of the Depression. I) 1 The First Central Tower, as I it was known then, was a mmmr symbol of hope in uncertain times. Nearly 70 years later, it is still Akron's tallest building a landmark that has stood its ground while much of the city's skyline has changed.

The 28-story, art deco building at 106 S. Main St. was designed by Cleveland architecture firm Walker Weeks, which also designed Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Severance Hall, Cleveland Public Hall and Akron's Goodyear Hall. The Carmichael Construction Co. built the 330-foot tower in 1930 and 1931 for First Central Trust an institution that began in 1890 as Peoples Savings Bank.

It was built on the former site of the six-story Hamilton Building, a place best known for its cigar store at the corner of Main and Mill streets. The Hamilton was demolished on Oct. 22, 1929, exactly one week before the U.S. stock market crashed. Although the economy was in shreds, Akron's $2.5 million tower proceeded as planned.

It officially opened on July 23, 1931, and was heralded as "a city within a city" and a "leviathan-like structure." About 40,000 people toured the new building during its grand opening. In addition to the bank, the tower featured 107 tenants in 1931, including doctors, dentists, lawyers and jewelers, rhere was a soda grill on the ground floor and two cigar stores. The most popular attraction, though, was the observation deck on the roof. Visitors were allowed to crowd the walkways at the top of the building. "The panorama from the tower is beautiful, picturesque, gaudy and spectacular," the Beacon Journal reported on July 23, 1931.

"Sharp hills in downtown Akron flatten out under one's eyes from the tower roof and traffic frantically moving in the streets so far below appears to the observer from the building roof to be scarcely moving. Such is the deception that distance lends." Among the sites visible from the roof were the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corp. dock, the South Akron and East Akron industrial plants, Portage Lakes and Sherbondy Hill, the newspaper reported. The walkways were closed to the public in the 1940s and removed entirely in 1953. First Central Tower became the First National Tower in April 1947 when its bank became First National Bank.

Many Akron residents still call it the First National Tower, even though it technically became the FirstMerit Tower when the bank's parent corporation changed names in 1997. Thousands of people have worked at the tower over the decades, but perhaps its most famous employee was an overnight disc jockey who manned the microphone when WAKR radio was operated out of the building's basement. Alan Freed, the man credited with popularizing the phrase "rock 'n' roll," worked at the Akron station from 1945 to 1950 before landing a job at a Cleveland radio station and making music history. 0 Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor.

if 1 11 wunaOhio.com SUNDAY BEACON MAGAZINE March 14, 1999 PAGE 13.