| Huntington Tower | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Ohio | |
| General information | |
| Location | 106 King James Way, Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 41°04′56″N 81°31′06″W / 41.0823°N 81.5184°W |
| Completed | 1931 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 137 metres (449 ft)[1] |
| Roof | 101 m (331 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 27 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Walker & Weeks[2] |
First National Bank Building | |
| Architect | Walker & Weeks |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000633[3] |
| Added to NRHP | June 27, 2007[3] |
| References | |
| [2][1] | |
Huntington Tower, earlier known as FirstMerit Tower, First National Bank Building, the First Central Tower and the First Central Trust Building, is a skyscraper in Akron, Ohio. The centerpiece of downtown Akron, it sits in the Cascade Plaza at the corner of King James Way and East Mill Street.[4] The 330 ft (100 m) tower[1] has been the city's tallest building since its completion in 1931.[2]
The 27-story building is art deco in style and is covered in glazed architectural terra-cotta.[5] Its lobby is built of Tennessee marble, white brick, and terra cotta, and features a large banking hall with arched windows.[2]
The tower is also noted for its role in local broadcasting. Studios for WAKR radio were originally housed in the ground level from 1940 until 1953.[6] The top of the building also held a television mast originally used by WAKR's TV adjacent, WAKR-TV (now WVPX-TV) and WAKR-FM.[6] Erected in 1953 for WAKR-TV's sign-on[7][8] and later donated to PBS member station WEAO, the antenna reached a height of 134.7 metres (442 ft) but was removed in 2019.[1][9]
- ^ a b c d "Huntington Tower". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ a b c d "Emporis building ID 125771". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016.
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Warsmith, Stephanie (October 7, 2013). "Akron moving ahead with plans to improve Cascade Plaza". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ "FirstMerit Restoration". Western Construction Group. Archived from the original on March 11, 2006.
- ^ a b Price, Mark J. (March 14, 1999). "Scraping the Sky". Sunday Beacon Magazine. p. 13. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ "Bird? Plane? Nope, TV Show 487 Feet in Air". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. June 7, 1953. p. 2. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
- "'Way Up Here---". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. June 7, 1953. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "---He Snaps A Picture From WAKR-TV Tower". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. June 7, 1953. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mackinnon, Jim (July 11, 2019). "Something's missing on downtown skyline". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. pp. B1, B10. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.