Huntington Tower
| Huntington Tower | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | 106 King James Way, Akron, Ohio, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°04′56″N 81°31′07″W / 41.082352°N 81.518480°W |
| Completed | 1931 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 137 metres (449 ft)[2] |
| Roof | 101 m (331 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 27 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Walker & Weeks[1] |
| References | |
| [1][2] | |
First National Bank Building | |
| Location | 106 South Main Street, Akron, Ohio, United States |
|---|---|
| Built | 1931 |
| Architect | Walker & Weeks |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000633[3] |
| Added to NRHP | June 27, 2007[3] |
Huntington Tower, also known as First Merit Tower, First National Bank Building and the First Central Trust Building, is a skyscraper in Akron, Ohio, that has been the city's tallest building since its completion in 1931.[1]
Style and location
The building is art deco in style and is covered in glazed architectural terra-cotta.[4] It sits at the corner of King James Way and East Mill Street. It rises 27 stories to a height of 330 feet (100 m).[2] The building stands in the Cascade Plaza[5] and is the centerpiece of downtown Akron. The lobby is built with Tennessee marble, white brick, and terra cotta, and features a large banking hall with arched windows.[1] The tower was built on the former site of the Hamilton Building, completed in 1900 in the neo-gothic style.[1]
The top of the building has a television broadcast tower, formerly used by WAKR-TV (now WVPX-TV) and WAKR-AM.[6] The antenna reaches 134.7 metres (442 ft).[2]
History
Around 2000, the tower was given a $2.5 million facelift, including a $1.8 million restoration of the tower's terra-cotta, brick, and limestone.[4] The painstaking process involved the removal of some 450 blocks weighing up to 75 pounds for cleaning and reassembly. Over 1,100 other pieces of the masonry and tilework were repaired on site.[4] In 2007, the tower underwent another restoration. Completed by Cleveland-based VIP Restorations, it includes repointing of all masonry and terra-cotta joints, repairs to the windows, structural restoration, and a restoration of the 13th floor parapet.[7] VIP Restorations also helped to get the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3][7]
The building's name was changed after First Merit was acquired by Huntington.[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Huntington Tower at Emporis
- ^ a b c d "Huntington Tower". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c FirstMerit Restoration Archived March 11, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, westerngroup.com
- ^ Warsmith, Stephanie (7 October 2013). "Akron moving ahead with plans to improve Cascade Plaza". Akron Beacon. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ "Beacon Magazine: Scraping the Sky". Beacon Journal. Knight-Ridder. 1999-03-14. p. 13.
- ^ a b FirstMerit, VIP Restoration
- ^ Warsinskey, Tim. "Huntington Bank buys FirstMerit: 12 things to know (photos)". Cleveland.com. The Plain Dealer.
External links
Media related to Huntington Tower at Wikimedia Commons