Akron Sites

New Deal Daily, July 3, 2018: "While in the WPA, Zemnick created several sculptures highlighting the transportation history of Ohio. The pieces were created ca. 1935-1939. They are now incorporated into a multi-panel history display at the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA)." The squirrel sculpture pictured below was also Zemnick's creation, made during her employment with the WPA. However, it is not known if Zemnick made the full-size sculpture(s), or just the model to be used in creating the full-size sculpture(s).

Completed in 1936 to provide space for community theater and musical performances, this beautiful Works Progress Administration stone amphitheater remains in good condition in Chestnut Ridge Park, off of East Avenue in Akron, Ohio. The amphitheater has been given Ohio Historic Preservation Office No SUM-354-16. Akron submitted a$1,000,000 proposal to WPA to improve Glendale and Waters parks, along with 10 other parks (Akron Beacon Journal, Dec. 23, 1935, p. 23). The projects were announced approved in March 1936, and Akron’s share of $30,000 was financed with bonds. Work was provided for “several hundred men”, 24 separate projects on 38 park properties and...

"The first All-American race was held in Dayton in 1934. The following year, the race was moved to Akron because of its central location and hilly terrain. In 1936, Akron civic leaders recognized the need for a permanent track site for the youth racing classic and, through the efforts of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Derby Downs became a reality."    (https://www.aasbd.org)

The Works Progress Administration built the Glendale Steps in Akron, OH. Originally constructed to link the Walnut Street neighbourhood at the top of a 200' bluff near downtown Akron to Glendale Park at the base of the bluff. The site is currently under reclamation and restoration.

WPA crews conducted improvements to this course from 1935 to 1936. From a 1936 story in Golfdom Magazine: "$75,000 is being spent through the WPA for remodeling fairways on the J. Edward Good Park Golf Club at Akron, Ohio."  

"The Rubber Bowl is a stadium in Akron, Ohio, United States, primarily used for American football... The movement to build a stadium in Akron began in 1939 when Akron Beacon Journal sports editor James Schlemmer and Akron Municipal Airport director Bain Fulton began a campaign asking patrons to donate $1 each. Later that year, the Works Progress Administration authorized construction of a horseshoe-shaped stadium in southern Akron adjacent to Derby Downs, the home of the Soap Box Derby that had been built in 1936. Construction lasted approximately one year and the first event hosted was a state music and drill competition...