The canal allowed Akron to be successful. It gave the people jobs and the resources were great. The city now is trying to rebuild things for a historic past. Like the interbelt night club that is going from being a gay bar to soon a jazz club.
Akron is a great place because of it's historic sites. Also helping Akron is the Akron University, which is home to many many students. Especially attracting many people for the polymer lab.
While Akron is a historic and great city, it definitely has a lot to do to be at once where it used to be. If it could restore itself to a better time, things would be great. Not just in the city, but also in the suburbs. Now when you drive through Akron one block a way from the loft houses are government housing. Akron is still today and important part of Ohio.
Feelings for First Semester
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Five months have passed so quickly as we are moving on to the last week of
first semester in a period of seven days. We have had great times being
busy, la...
10 years ago
7 comments:
You have a good memory. I forgot about the interbelt night club. I think it would have been good to mention why the polymer labs are attracting students. But I liked the comment about restoring Akron to a better time.
Anna, Evan only remembers the night club because he is bummed about the gay bar going away. Frankly, I can't blame him. A gay bar is much more colorful than some silly jazz club.
I agree with what Evan has to say about Akron needing to do a lot to restore itself to its former place. The question is "how?"
Getting rid of a gay bar is certainly not the answer.
As I read all of the journals this time, I am picking up a feeling that our group is not impressed with the idea of using heritage to move forward. It is a an interesting dichotomy. Like what Mr. January (at the Mustill Store)said the slogan for the Cascade Locks Park Association is, "A heritage park for Akron's future," do you even think that is possible? Why does this idea work in places like Valley Forge, Williamsburg, Washington, Wilmington, and Gettysburg?
Why can't it work in Akron?
The reason Akron's heritage doesn't attract as much interest as places like Valley Forge and Gettysburg is because the history of rubber and a canal isn't nearly as fascinating as the sites of a Civil War battle and a camp where George Washington and his army suffered a harsh winter.
The idea of using Akron's past for the future is not a bad thought; however, I think that it would take a lot of enhancement to make the industries of Akron look as majestic as the aforementioned sites.
We should increase violent crime in Akron, maybe get a "Jack the Ripper"-like figure and in 100 years, we'll be all set as a tourist attraction.
I don't think the problem is the battle grounds or historical sights or even nature. When I think of a booming city that attracts a lot of people, I think of a place that has a lot of modern day attractions like theaters and expensive stores and attraction parks and casinos and huge hotels. Unfortunately, those places are also usually dirty and crime is a big problem. But i'm sure if we built an amusement park like cedar point in the middle of Akron, we would get tons of people flocking to the city. People like that kind of stuff. It's modern day fun.
You should look back at the days when Akron had amusement parks. There were prominent ones on Summit Lake and at the Gorge. I don't think it would do much for the economy today (consider the parks that have recently closed down in our area), but it would be fun to learn more about a "simpler, happier time."
Maybe the questions you pose on this subject would lead to a good final project.
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