Akron, OH HyperLocal City Guide featuring Neighborhoods, Zip Codes and Yellow Pages.

Akron, Ohio, is located on the Little Cuyahoga River, and was once the heart of the nation's rubber industry. Akron still contains the headquarters of some rubber and chemical and polymer corporations. Its many manufactures range from fishing tackle to plastics, missiles, rubber, and heavy machinery. Known as a city of “firsts,” some of those include: first balloon tires, first automobile tires made in the United States, first U.S. toy company and first artificial fish bait made. The cornucopia ice cream cone was created at the 1904 World's Fair.

The Ohio and Erie Canal opened in 1827, and later the railroad spurred the city's growth. The first rubber plant was established in 1870. The city is home to the University of Akron, the Institute of Rubber Research, an art institute, a music center, and a symphony orchestra. Of note is a giant airdock for blimps—one of the world's largest buildings without inner supports, and the annual Soapbox Derby.

Accommodations
O'Neil House is a charming Bed and Breakfast and is the restored Tudor home of William O'Neil, founder of General Tire, and it features four unique guest rooms.

Ken Stewart's Lodge, Adirondack-style lodge, has seven warm, comfortable rooms and five fireplaces.

The Radisson Hotel Akron City Centre, and the Four Points Sheraton Akron West, provide comfort and convenience for travelers.

Restaurants
Menches Brothers Restaurant is known for two of America's favorite foods that were invented by the Menches Brothers of Akron. In 1885 at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, NY, concessionaires Frank and Charles Menches ran out of pork for their famous sausage sandwiches. They switched to chopped beef and spiced it with brown sugar, coffee, and a few other still-secret ingredients, creating the beloved hamburger.

Tangier Restaurant & Cabaret, an icon for over 50 years, has been re-invented and is a place of interest to dine.

Shopping
Akron has a diverse and colorful heritage of old restaurants and shopping centers. Quaker Square, located in the heart of Akron’s downtown, is a mall made out of the old Quaker Oats Company factory, which originally operated there. The oat silos have been transformed into hotel rooms providing a unique experience to the guest. The Trackside Grille, themed with railroads which run parallel to the building, provides a narrative of Akron’s history.

There are two full-size shopping malls in Akron: Chapel Hill Mall on Brittain Road to the northeast, and Rolling Acres Mall is the largest mall in the region with 1.3 million square feet. West Point Market, a nationally-known specialty food and wine store, offers Akron imported and gourmet food items in addition to locally grown produce.

Major Attractions
At the John S. Knight Center an exhibition hall has approximately 30,000 square-feet; 12,000 square-feet of banquet space: an additional 12,600 square-feet of meeting space; and 22,000 square-feet of magnificent lobby, highlighted by a distinctive glass rotunda and spiral staircase.

The lower level features an atrium-style concourse, 12 flexible meeting rooms, and six permanent meeting rooms. The upper level features banquet room and ballroom space totaling 12,855 square feet.

Each summer Akron hosts the All American Soap Box Derby. Children from across the country race their homemade, gravity-powered race cars down a steep hill.

Written by: Karen J. Lee