Akron Rural Cemetary Buildings. (Glendale Cemetary) 150 Glendale Ave. National Historic Registry 80003236 Caretakers Residence (1869), Memorial Chapel (1876-76), Bell Tower (1883), Office Building (1903) The four stone structures at the main entrance of the cemetary constitute the most signifcant group of Gothic buildings in the city of Akron. The centerpiece, Memorial Chapel, is the superlative example of high Victorian Gothic style and one of the finest buildings designed by a notable local architect of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Frank O. Weary. (Other buildings by Mr. Weary include the Akron Art Institute, which was formerly the citys Carnegie Library, and Buchtel Hall at the University of Akron) Memorial Chapel was erected in 1875-76 at a cost of $25,000 with funds raised by Buckley Post, Grand Army of the Republic. It was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1876, to the memory of Akron area soldiers of the Union army who died in the Civil War. The chapel is listed in the historic landmark survey that was conducted in 1978 for the city of Akrons Department of Planning and Urban Development. That survey recorded only three other Akron buildings that are truly representative of the high Victorian Gothic style: St Pauls Sunday School and Parish House, 354 E. Market St. (added to the National Register in 1976); Hammel Actual College, 57 E. Market St; and the Kaiser Building, 325 S. Main St., which has suffered greatly from street level modernization since the landmark survey was completed. Also included in the landmark survey are the cemetery office building and caretakerss residence. These well designed and interesting structures together with the handsome bell tower, complement Memorial Chapel by their siting and are in architectural harmony with it. Akron Rural Cemetery, chartered in 1839, was headed for the first 41 years of its existence by Simon Perkins Jr., one of Akrons most prominent figures and a son of the citys co-founder, General Simon Perkins. As the years passed, the cemeterys environs become more urban than rural. For that reason and because it was bounded on the north by Glendale Ave, people began to call it Glendale and it is now known to the public only by that name. Nonetheless, the corporate name remains Akron Rural Cemetery. sc.akronlibrary.org/files/2011/11/80003236.pdf
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 13:58:09 +0000