Huntington Tower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Huntington Tower |
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| General information | |
| Location | 106 King James Way, Akron, Ohio, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°04′56″N 81°31′06″W / 41.0823°N 81.5184°W |
| Completed | 1931 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 137 metres (449 ft) |
| Roof | 101 m (331 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 27 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Walker & Weeks |
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First National Bank Building
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| Architect | Walker & Weeks |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000633 |
| Added to NRHP | June 27, 2007 |
The Huntington Tower is a very tall building, also known as a skyscraper, located in Akron, Ohio. It has had a few different names over the years, like First Merit Tower, First National Bank Building, and First Central Trust Building.
This impressive building is a main feature of downtown Akron. You can find it in Cascade Plaza, at the corner of King James Way and East Mill Street. Standing at about 330 feet (101 meters) tall, it has been the tallest building in Akron since it was finished in 1931.
The Huntington Tower has 27 floors. It is built in the Art Deco style, which was popular in the 1920s and 1930s. This style often uses geometric shapes and rich decoration. The outside of the building is covered with special shiny tiles called glazed architectural terra-cotta. Inside, the main lobby is made of beautiful Tennessee marble, white brick, and terra cotta. It also has a large banking hall with tall, arched windows.
For many years, a television broadcast tower sat on top of the building. This antenna was used by local TV and radio stations, like WAKR-TV (now WVPX-TV) and WAKR-AM. The antenna reached a height of about 134.7 meters (442 feet). However, this antenna was removed in 2019.
History of the Tower
The Huntington Tower was built on the site of an older building called the Hamilton Building. The Hamilton Building was completed in 1900 and was built in a style called neo-gothic.
Around the year 2000, the tower received a big update that cost $2.5 million. A large part of this money, $1.8 million, was spent on fixing the terra-cotta, brick, and limestone on the outside. Workers carefully removed about 450 blocks, each weighing up to 75 pounds, to clean and put them back. More than 1,100 other pieces of the stone and tile were fixed right on the building.
In 2007, the tower had another restoration. A company from Cleveland, VIP Restorations, did the work. They fixed the mortar between the bricks and terra-cotta. They also repaired the windows and strengthened parts of the building. The 13th-floor parapet, which is a low wall along the edge of the roof, was also restored. VIP Restorations also helped the building get listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is recognized as an important historical site.
The building's name changed to Huntington Tower after a company called Huntington bought First Merit Bank. In 2019, Huntington announced that the building was for sale.
