The culture of

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

is an amalgamation of local features of the city, which was founded in Summit County in 1825.

Cuisine

While the city originally had German roots, the influx of immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s brought Jewish, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Slovenian and Ukrainian food to the table:

pastrami Pastrami (Romanian: '' pastramă'') is a food originating from Romania usually made from beef brisket, lamb, pork, chicken sometimes from turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed. ...

, pierogis, pizza, and sauerkraut balls. Today's restaurants also feature African, Asian, Middle-Eastern, and Mexican cuisine. Urban farming is part of Akron's cultural landscape. The city has provided many places to grow food, and has also supported many new restaurants: Bricco, Cilantro, Crave, and Lockview. Independent grocery stores include Krieger's, Mustard Seed Market, and Seven Grain Market. Akron has a longstanding claim to being the birthplace of the

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, ...

. A "National Hamburger Festival" was held in the city annually for many years.

Fine arts

Founded in 1922, the Akron Art Museum was vastly expanded in the early 2000s and now hosts international exhibitions along with its local collections. Directly across the street from the museum is the small Nightlight Cinema, an independent enterprise. As ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' describes it, the theater "focuses exclusively on locally produced movies, as well as obscure documentaries, foreign films, and first-run indie features (in other words—titles you’ve likely never heard of, and that’s the point)".

Literature

The award-winning

Knight-Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper bran ...

newspaper chain began in Akron as two separate companies, the '' Akron Beacon Journal'' and the German-language ''

New Yorker Staats-Zeitung The ''New Yorker Staats-Zeitung'', nicknamed ''"The Staats"'', claims to be the leading German-language weekly newspaper in the United States and is one of the oldest, having been published since the mid-1830s. In the late 19th century, it was on ...

''. The city is the birthplace of

Rita Dove Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the positi ...

, former Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Sojourner Truth gave her famous "

Ain't I A Woman "Ain't I a Woman?" is a speech, delivered extemporaneously, by Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), born into slavery in New York State. Some time after gaining her freedom in 1827, she became a well known anti-slavery speaker. Her speech was deliver ...

" speech in Akron at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851. The city is and has been home to award-winning writers David Auburn and

Terry Pluto Terry Pluto (born June 12, 1955) is an American sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and author who primarily writes columns for ''The Plain Dealer'', and formerly for the '' Akron Beacon Journal'' about Cleveland, Ohio sports and religion. Plu ...

. A former literary editor of '' Esquire'', Adrienne Miller, came from the Akron suburbs; she later wrote the novel ''The Coast of Akron''.

Comic books

The landmark Akron pizza shop Luigi's is the inspiration for the pizza shop Montoni's in the comic strip '' Funky Winkerbean'', written by Akron native

Tom Batiuk Thomas Martin Batiuk (born March 14, 1947) is an American comic strip creator, best known for his long-running newspaper strip '' Funky Winkerbean''. Career Born in Akron, Ohio, Batiuk attended Kent State University, from which he graduated in ...

. In the

Flaming Carrot Comics ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' was an American superhero comic book created by Bob Burden, featuring the absurd, surreal adventure of the Flaming Carrot. The series first appeared in ''Visions'' #1, a magazine-size comic book publication. Flaming Carr ...

, Iron City, where the Carrot lives, was made similar to Akron and another working-stiff town,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. Writer and illustrator

Bill Watterson William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is a retired American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip ''Calvin and Hobbes'', which was Print syndication, syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing ''Calvin and Hobbes'' at ...

has also lived in the county.

Music

Akron has been home to a wide variety of musical artists including: *

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

singer

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singers Howard Hewett,

James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song. After beginning his career ...

, and

Ruby Nash Curtis Ruby Nash Garnett (born June 15, 1934) is an American singer who led the rhythm and blues group Ruby & the Romantics. Career Born in Akron, Ohio, Nash did not start singing until she was a senior in high school. She joined a group of male singe ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician

Jeff Golub Jeff Golub (April 15, 1955 – January 1, 2015) was an American jazz guitarist who had a solo career and who led the band Avenue Blue. He worked as a sideman for a number of rock and pop musicians. He was arguably best known for his work with Rod ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

musician

Len Chandler Len Hunt Chandler, Jr. (born May 27, 1935), better known as Len Chandler, is a folk musician from Akron, Ohio. Biography He showed an early interest in music and began playing piano at age 8. Studying classical music in his early teens, he lear ...

*vocalist

Helen Jepson Helen Jepson (November 28, 1904 – September 16, 1997) was an American lyric soprano. Early years Jepson was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1904, (Two sources give her birthday as November 28, 1906.) DeLong, Thomas A. (199 ...

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

leader

Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for rec ...

*opera singer

Russell Oberlin Russell Keys Oberlin (October 11, 1928 – November 25, 2016)Millington, Barry "Russell Oberlin obituary" ''The Guardian'', December 5, 2016; retrieved December 15, 2016. was an American singer and founding member of the New York New York Pro Musi ...

*composer

Nikola Resanovic Nikola Resanovic (born 1955) is an American composer and professor of music at the University of Akron School of Music. He is the winner of the 2003 Cleveland Arts Prize in Music and is one of Ohio's best known living composers. In 1955, he was ...

*singer-songwriters

Joseph Arthur Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for his solo material, and as a member of Fistful of Mercy and RNDM. Arthur has built his reputation over the years through ...

, Roger Hoover, and Pete Nischt * avant garde musician

Ralph Carney Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

*novelty songwriters Buckner & Garcia

Rock music

In the late 1970s, following the international success of local band Devo, talent scouts combed the city. Soon, several compilation albums promoted the "Akron Sound", a multifaceted music scene led by

the Waitresses The Waitresses were an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, best known for their singles " I Know What Boys Like" and " Christmas Wrapping." They released two albums, ''Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?'' and '' Bruiseology'', and two EPs, '' I Co ...

and

Rachel Sweet Rachel Sweet (born July 28, 1962)
accessed May 2, 2014. is an American singer, television writer and actres ...

, and many artists of regional prominence including

Tin Huey Tin Huey is an American experimental rock and new wave band from Akron, Ohio, United States, that formed in 1972 and disbanded in 1982. History Original lineups Initially named Rags, the band started with Mark Price (then known as Wesley the Sta ...

Liam Sternberg Liam Sternberg (born July 28, 1949 in Akron, Ohio) is an American songwriter and producer who wrote the Bangles hit "Walk Like an Egyptian". Sternberg first got noticed as part of the late 1970s " Akron Sound" which included Devo and the Waitresse ...

, Bizarros, and Rubber City Rebels. Other major rock musicians from the city are: The city's music scene is chronicled and commemorated in the Akron Sound Museum, established in 2015.

Concert venues

The Akron Art Museum has hosted free outdoor concerts every summer since 1984. Major venues for music in Akron include the

Akron Civic Theatre The Akron Civic Theatre (originally the Loew's Theatre) is a theater in Akron, Ohio. It is one of only five remaining atmospheric theatres designed by John Eberson in the United States and is an excellent example of the great movie palaces of t ...

, E.J. Thomas Hall, and

Blossom Music Center Blossom Music Center, locally referred to simply as Blossom, is an outdoor amphitheatre in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, United States. The venue is the summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra and site of the ensemble’s annual Blossom Festival. Blossom M ...

. Residents and fans of alternative music still miss the Lime Spider, but continue to appreciate new bands and live poetry at Annabelle's and Paolo's. The North Hill neighborhood was known for

during the early 1900s.

Sports and recreation

The city is home to basketball superstar

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

, and renamed part of its Main Street to "King James Way" in his honor. The city hosts a Minor League Baseball team, the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

, who play in Canal Park. The World Championship finals of

Soap Box Derby The Soap Box Derby is a youth soapbox car racing program which has been run in the United States since 1933. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio. Cars competing in this and related events are unpowered, ...

are held annually at

Derby Downs Derby Downs, in Akron, Ohio, has been the home track of the All American Soap Box Derby since it was built as a Works Progress Administration project in the late 1930s. The three-lane asphalt track starts near the top of George Washington Bouleva ...

. Hikers and bikers have long enjoyed the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, which runs through Akron and on to Cleveland.

References

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