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Harvey S. Firestone Memorial

1950 establishments in Ohio1950 sculpturesBronze sculptures in OhioMonuments and memorials in OhioOutdoor sculptures in Ohio
Sculptures of men in OhioStatues in OhioVandalized works of art in OhioWorks by James Earle Fraser (sculptor)
Harvey S Firestone Memorial, Akron, Ohio
Harvey S Firestone Memorial, Akron, Ohio

The Harvey S. Firestone Memorial is a large sculpture ensemble dedicated to Harvey S. Firestone, created by sculptors James Earle Fraser and Donald De Lue in Akron, Ohio. The monument was designed by architect Eric Gugler and was dedicated on August 3, 1950. It is located at Bridgestone Americas Technology Center at 10 East Firestone Boulevard, Akron, Ohio 44301, adjacent to the Research Building. The impetus to create a monument to Harvey S. Firestone in Akron began shortly after his death in 1938; however, the advent of World War II temporarily delayed the project, although discussions regarding the site continued in 1944 between representatives of the Firestone company and the architect Gugler. It was during these discussions that the patron expressed the desire that the work include more than just a statue of Firestone. Gigler then developed the concept of the allegorical bas relief panels on a curved exedra.As work on the piece progressed, the elderly Fraser found doing the physically demanding work on the monumental seated figure to be more and more taxing and was aided in this process by both his wife, sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser, who represented him at the statue's dedication, and by De Lue. However, as the dedication, timed to mark the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company's 50th anniversary, drew near, it was realized that the bronze work was not going to be finished; Fraser therefore suggested that a painted plaster version of the statue be used. Unknown to the general public, this is what was viewed at the unveiling by Firestone's five sons. The two statues were quietly switched later. De Lue's involvement in the project came about when Gugler recommended using Paul Manship, with whom he had frequently worked, to do the panels in the exedra. Fraser, "who felt himself to be in direct competition with Manship", countered by suggesting De Lue, with whom Gugler had also worked, and he was awarded the commission. For the back of the exedra De Lue produced six allegorical relief panels, Contemplation, Invention (or Inspiration), The Hours, The Years, Leadership, and Fruition (or Achievement). Although the statue is a major work, it is one of Fraser's more obscure and misunderstood ones. The bust of Firestone that he created at the same time and currently housed in the National Portrait Gallery is mentioned in two of the standard references on the artist, The End of the Trail by Krakell and the Syracuse University exhibition catalog, but neither one mentions the monument. On the other hand, Freundlich's The Sculpture of James Earle Fraser does discuss the memorial but attributes De Lue's relief panels, which the author erroneously places "on the base," to Fraser .At some point in their history, prior to 2013, De Lue's reliefs were fairly seriously vandalized. Inspection reveals that noses, fingers and toes, the major elements that had been undercut in the work's carving process, had been beaten off the granite figures.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Harvey S. Firestone Memorial (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Harvey S. Firestone Memorial
East Wilbeth Road, Akron Firestone Park

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Wikipedia: Harvey S. Firestone MemorialContinue reading on Wikipedia

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N 41.04172 ° E -81.52564 °
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East Wilbeth Road
44306 Akron, Firestone Park
Ohio, United States
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Harvey S Firestone Memorial, Akron, Ohio
Harvey S Firestone Memorial, Akron, Ohio
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Firestone Stadium
Firestone Stadium

Firestone Stadium is a softball stadium in Akron, Ohio, U.S. The stadium was dedicated on July 25, 1925, by Harvey S. Firestone, the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. It was owned and operated by the Firestone company until it was donated to the City of Akron in 1988. It has a seating capacity of 4,576. From 1999 to 2017, it served as the home of the Akron Racers of the National Pro Fastpitch softball league. The stadium was also the site of the annual Mid-American Conference softball tournament from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2008 through 2019. It was scheduled to host the 2020 tournament, but the tournament was canceled in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Subsequently, in May 2020 the Mid-American Conference announced that the softball tournament was one of eight conference tournaments that were eliminated for at least the next four seasons beginning in 2020–21.Since 2009, Firestone Stadium has hosted the semifinals and finals of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) state softball tournament. The championship rounds include all four divisions of OHSAA softball, with 12 games played in three days in late May or early June. It was scheduled to again host the championship rounds June 4–6, 2020, but the tournament was cancelled in late April along with all other spring sports seasons and tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic.Mayor Dan Horrigan, Akron City Council member Donnie Kammer (D-Ward 7), Bridgestone Americas Senior Vice President of Product Development Hans Dorfi and Ohio High School Athletic Association Executive Director Doug Ute, along with representatives from various contractors, gathered June 1, 2022 for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completed renovations of Firestone Stadium at 1575 Firestone Parkway. The $1.47 million project included upgrades to four restrooms and the concession area, new heating, ventilation and air conditioning, new LED field lighting and a perimeter fence. In addition, two new artificial turf fields were installed.

Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio

Akron () is a city in and the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, United States. At the 2020 census, the city proper had a total population of 190,469, making it the fifth-most populous city in Ohio and 136th-most populous city in the United States. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had a population of 702,219. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau in Northeast Ohio about 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Cleveland. The city was founded by Simon Perkins and Paul Williams in 1825 along the Little Cuyahoga River at the summit of the developing Ohio and Erie Canal. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek word ἄκρον : ákron signifying a summit or high point. It was briefly renamed South Akron after Eliakim Crosby founded nearby North Akron in 1833, until both merged into an incorporated village in 1836. In the 1910s, Akron doubled in population, making it the nation's fastest-growing city. A long history of rubber and tire manufacturing, carried on today by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, gave Akron the nickname "Rubber Capital of the World". It was once known as a center of airship development. Today, its economy includes manufacturing, education, healthcare, and biomedical research; leading corporations include Gojo Industries, FirstEnergy, Huntington Bank, and Charter Spectrum. Notable historic events in Akron include the passage of the Akron School Law of 1847, which created the K–12 system; the popularization of the church architectural Akron Plan, the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous, the Akron Experiment into preventing goiters with iodized salt, the 1983 Supreme Court case City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health; and portions of the 2014 Gay Games. A racially diverse city, it has seen noted racial relations speeches by Sojourner Truth in 1851 (the Ain't I A Woman? speech), W. E. B. Du Bois in 1920, and President Bill Clinton in 1997. In 1914, Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Akron. Episodes of major civil unrest in Akron have included the riot of 1900, rubber strike of 1936, the Wooster Avenue riots of 1968, and the 2022 protests surrounding the killing of Jayland Walker.

Portage Lakes
Portage Lakes

The Portage Lakes are a group of glacial kettle lakes and reservoirs in Northeast Ohio. The name comes from an old Indian portage path that connected the Cuyahoga River flowing north to Lake Erie and the Tuscarawas River, a tributary of the Muskingum River, which flows south to the Ohio River. This proved advantageous for the Indians and early settlers as navigation from Lake Erie to the Ohio was possible with only an eight-mile portage. Portage Lakes State Park lies at one of the highest points of the state and on a major watershed divide in Ohio. Some water from the lakes reaches Lake Erie and some flows to the Ohio River.There is an unincorporated community named Portage Lakes in Summit County, near 41°00′26″N 081°31′37″W Elevation: 1,053 feet (321 m), in the area. The area became an important trading post for settlers and Indians. It was a recognized landmark during the War of 1812, serving as a rendezvous point of American troops. The old Indian portage path was part of the ancient boundary between the Six Nations and the Western Indians.The city of Akron was laid out in 1825 and was first settled by Irish laborers and others working on the Ohio and Erie Canal. Once the canal was completed, the town flourished. Several important industries brought prosperity to the area including stoneware potteries, sewer pipe manufacturing, the match industry and, most recently, the tire and rubber industry. At one time, the Blue Diamond Match Company in Akron used three million board feet (7,000 m³) of white pine lumber per year for the manufacture of its matches.Several of the Portage Lakes were built as feeder reservoirs for the canals to maintain the required depth of 4 feet (1.2 m). The lakes were used for this purpose until the canals were abandoned in 1913. The lakes were then used to meet the water needs of the local industries. Some portions of the remnant canals in the Akron area can still be boated.The Ohio Department of Public Works maintained the canal lands for recreational purposes until 1949 when the Portage Lakes were transferred to the newly formed Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation.