Akron
[key], city (2020 pop. 190,469), seat of Summit co., NE Ohio, on the Little Cuyahoga River;
inc. 1865. Once the heart of the nation's rubber industry, Akron still contains the
headquarters of some rubber corporations and chemical and polymer corporations. Its many
manufactures range from fishing tackle to plastics, missiles, rubber, and heavy machinery. The
Ohio and Erie Canal (opened 1827) and later the railroad spurred the city's growth. The first
rubber plant was established in 1870. Focused on tire production, Akron's rubber industry grew
and declined with Detroit's automobile industry; by the mid-1980s virtually all the tire
plants had shut down. The city is home to the Univ. of Akron, the Institute of Rubber
Research, an art institute, a music center, and a symphony orchestra. Of note are a giant
airdock for blimps—one of the world's largest buildings without inner
supports—and the annual Soapbox Derby.
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