Akron, city in northeastern Ohio and seat of Summit County. The city is located at the highest point of the Ohio and Erie Canal and between the headwaters of the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers. A rail and road center, Akron is a crossroads on the distribution routes between the East and Midwest. The city is highly industrialized, with manufacturers in fields such as aerospace, nuclear power, automotive, metals, and chemicals. Akron is a world center for research and manufacture of polymers, large molecules whose unique properties make them useful in making a variety of materials. Several major tire and rubber companies have headquarters in the city. The city continues to produce rubber products although the manufacture of automobile tires has moved to other locations. Scheduled air service is through Akron-Canton Regional Airport.
Among the educational institutions in Akron are the University of Akron (1870), which includes the Institute of Polymer Science, and several two-year colleges. Kent State University (1910) is nearby. Cultural landmarks in the city include Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens, an example of tudor revival architecture completed in 1915 by Goodyear Rubber and Tire Company founder Frank A. Seiberling; Akron Art Museum, with a collection focusing on works created since 1850; E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall, home of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Ohio Ballet; several theaters; a museum devoted to the rubber industry; a zoological park; and Quaker Square, a shopping and entertainment complex inside a restored factory that was the original home of Quaker Oats Company.
