Members of Akron City Council unanimously asked the administration Monday to find a way to save the Firestone Plant #1 clock tower — or at least the clock face.
The clock tower, along with the rest of the 115-year-old building, is due to be demolished next year after the city rejected a Hail Mary proposal from a developer to turn it into the new Akron police department. Mayor Shammas Malik last week announced that the city would refurbish the existing police headquarters instead of moving to a new building.
The resolution, approved 13-0 with every member of council signing on as a sponsor, asks that the administration “identify alternative solutions” for the clock and clock tower. It also requests that the clock stay on site at 1200 Firestone Parkway.
“I believe the administration should really look at alternatives and avenues to try to save and preserve the clock tower,” said City Council Member Donnie Kammer, who represents the area, in offering the resolution.
Later, he said he hoped there would be a way to keep the clock tower because of what it meant to families who moved to Akron for the rubber industry, settled, then raised families here.
Saving clock face alone ‘not enough’
Dana Noel, the advocacy chair for Progress Through Preservation, said he thinks saving the clock face without the rest of the clock tower is insufficient. Alone, he said, the face isn’t meaningful. But with the context of the clock tower, it shows the way the plant was the focal point of a planned community that helped the city grow.
“What they’re proposing is not enough,” Noel said of saving just the face. “It’s an appeasement, it’s not a compromise.”
He said he still hopes that the city will find a way to save the building itself, which he called one of the most historic buildings in Akron. If it is repurposed, Noel said, it could have a huge economic impact on the city. But once it’s demolished, it’s gone.
Noel emailed Malik Monday afternoon, asking for a meeting to propose how the building might be saved. Late Monday, he said he had not yet received a response.
“These are things that are really hard to stop and solve in the 11th hour,” Noel said.
Kammer did not return a phone call late Monday seeking additional comment about his hopes for the clock tower. In a committee meeting Monday afternoon, he said he hoped the city’s staff would find a way to salvage some of Firestone Plant #1’s history.
“This is a very important building and important structure for the history of Akron and how we got here,” he said.