INSIDE AKRON: Akron Documenters are fanning out across the city’s 24 neighborhoods to elevate places, faces, voices and vibes — as shared by the people who live there. Expect a new profile every day through October.
Originally developed as housing for its white factory workers in the early 1900s, the Goodyear Heights neighborhood maintains its namesake from the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Developed — and underwritten — by F.A. Seiberling, one of the tire company’s cofounders, the subdivision was designed by Warren Manning, who also designed the grounds of Stan Hywet, Seiberling’s home.
Construction in the neighborhood started in 1912, and while most of the homes were built by the company, others were built by employees using pre-approved plans. Black families lived in neighborhoods that cropped up on the outskirts of historic Goodyear Heights.
Akron Documenter ShaKeela Gary is the primary contributor for this story. She is a Goodyear Heights resident and has been a Documenter since December of 2024. Learn more about Documenters, including how to join.
The area was part of the Garden City movement, where green space is integrated into neighborhoods. Now, the neighborhood of about 15,000 people is nearly 60% white and 27% Black — 56% of homes are owner-occupied.
Mary Manning (not related to Warren Manning), 64, grew up in the area and values the neighborhood’s quiet. She said she likes to take walks in Goodyear Heights Metro Park and look at the cattails. She also appreciates the Linda Theater and other venues such as the Goodyear Theater in Goodyear Hall which is near the company’s former headquarters.
“I just hope that it stays the way it is,” she said. “I hope it’s still affordable for families for the years to come.”
Documenter ShaKeela Gary talked to Linda Theater owner David Schweyer about why he wanted to stay in Goodyear Heights and what the neighborhood needs. She also talked to a mother of two for her perspective on the community.
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: Marlina Blocker
Marlina has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years.
What is the most interesting thing about Goodyear Heights?
“It actually feels like a family, like if something goes on, like everyone’s gonna know about it, or like everyone comes together to try to fix it,” Marlina said about living in Goodyear Heights. “And that’s different for me from where I used to live, and how I grew up.” She said it’s good that there are a lot of “nosy” people.
What is missing from your neighborhood?
Marlina wants more things for kids. She said that Reservoir Park Community Center is nice, but it has been closed for reconstruction (the center and pool are expected to reopen next summer.) She wants more things for kids to do after school and during the summer.
How has Goodyear Heights changed in the time you’ve lived there?
“I can’t really say I’ve seen any changes. That’s neither good or bad, you know. I’m comfortable,” she said. “I’ve never had any issues or anything.” Marlina added that she’s “not nervous” about crime if she has to leave her home.
Where is the Goodyear Heights neighborhood?
Goodyear Heights features a large residential community that was originally built to house factory workers. The neighborhood is home to the Goodyear Heights Metro Park, which includes recreational areas for fishing, sledding and skiing, and Reservoir Park, which features a community swimming pool.
What’s the biggest challenge facing your neighborhood, and how do you think it can be solved?
“People are hard on money,” Marlina said, talking about economic challenges. “I hear about people breaking into cars and literally just taking change out of someone’s car.” She’d like to see more help for connecting at-risk people to employment resources.
As a single mother to two school-aged children, Marlina would also like to see more public school funding. “That bothers me. I don’t know how we get more funding or how that works, but that’ll make a world of difference.”
What else do you want people to know about your neighborhood?
Goodyear Heights is a good neighborhood, she said, and it’s not scary. She always accompanies her children outdoors, walks the dog often and doesn’t worry for her kids’ safety.
If someone is visiting Goodyear Heights, where should they go?
Marlina suggested hiking a trail in the Goodyear Heights Metro Park on the east side of the neighborhood.
“I love trails, the kids will tell you. There’s so many different trails all just sporadically all around here,” she said, “which is really nice.”
She also recommended a stop at the Goodyear Branch Library with your children. “They’ll have hot cocoa during the winter time and movie time for the kids and stuff,” she said, noting that it’s all free.
Small Business Perspective
Cafe Rewind and the Linda Theatre, 1745 and 1763 Goodyear Blvd.
David Schweyer, co-owner
Tell me about the purpose of your business? What do you do everyday?
David has been a musician since he was a kid and played in a traveling band for more than 15 years, performing in shows from the East Coast to the West Coast.
“And instead of continuing to just play shows up and down, up and down, back and forth, decided to just make more like a headquarters, like a hub, and open up a venue to harbor talent in the neighborhood,” David said about the impetus behind the cafe and theater that he co-owns.
He said the plans are to connect the restaurant and nightclub with the Linda Theater next door and build a stage for musicians to come play for neighborhood residents. He said that it would be a “kind of a classier neutral zone that all ages can enjoy” and that it would include “everything from Saturday morning cartoons at the theater to video game tournaments to live bands.”
How does your organization fit into or support Goodyear Heights?
David said he’s met thousands of people over 29 years of tattooing (he started when he was 13) and that they are “all generally from this neighborhood — friends, family and people in the surrounding areas.”
Goodyear Heights needed a “headquarters, or like a hub, a refuge of sorts, to get together” for music, art and good food, he said.
“You gotta have those things there so that’s really what brings the community together. No matter where you go or what you do, you need those things there, so that’s really what we try to offer for the neighborhood.”
What’s the most important or interesting thing about your neighborhood?
David talked about the people and diversity. “I’ve traveled the world, you know, 35 states, nine countries, but I wanted to come back here. So I think that’s what’s interesting,” he said. “Just like anywhere is home to anybody, but the people that are here really do want to be a part of any new thing that’s happening.”
“As soon as something is going on, like this project we’ve been doing for a decade, it brings the people out of the woodwork. And to me, what’s interesting is the team effort to try to keep things going.”
What’s missing from Goodyear Heights or what’s the biggest need in the neighborhood?
David said reasons need to be created to get people out of their houses and exploring the neighborhood more. It’s all about community, he said.
Everybody’s got an extra 20 minutes a day to do something with each other.”
David Schweyer, co-owner of Cafe Rewind and Linda Theatre
“I think that’s really what it needs, is more planning with people to get together and feel more like they’re a part of something,” he said. “That could be doing murals together with me, or helping paint the city, clean up the city together, all those kinds of things. Everybody’s got an extra 20 minutes a day to do something with each other.”
What else do you want to say about your organization or the neighborhood?
For David, the effort to create a neighborhood “hub” at Rewind Cafe and the Linda Theater is about “getting people out of their house and meeting these characters, because everybody’s so useful to each other. Once they know each other… whether that’s plumbers or doctors or dentists or social media managers or whatever. We’ve met so many people the past couple of years that we’ve been open that it’s almost like anything you need. Everybody’s right there.”
“We’ve got people from the college coming down just to sit and grab one of our sandwiches or nachos or our soups,” he said. “And they’re sitting in there just doing their homework for like, four or five hours, and they’re like, ‘I just don’t want to go home.’”
Public space shoutout
Triangle Park, also called Gazebo Park or Public Square Triangle Park, is located off Goodyear Boulevard. Pioneer Street and Malasia Road form the rest of the triangle giving this small green space its name. With a gazebo in the center and lawn space, it supports a variety of uses, including concerts in the park every Friday during the summer.
Seven sidewalk murals adorn the walking space around the park. R.I.G.H.T Committee (Residents Improving Goodyear Heights Together) commissioned the artwork. Akron artists Mac Love with Art x Love and Lindsey Jo Scott organized two days of painting during the early days of the COVID pandemic in 2020. The murals represent key elements of the neighborhood from its history and today.
