To the People of Akron

Downtown Akron at dawn. There's more to this place than you think.

There are a bunch of things I want to write about from our trip to Akron.  I'm definitely going to milk that trip for a few posts.  But, I wanted to use this first one not to talk about photography really, but to talk to all of you in the Akron area.  We got to see lots of friends and family while we were home, and I think we talked about the following with almost all of them.  Only a few had a clue what we were talking about. Folks are missing it and I think that's a shame. I don't want you to miss it.  So, Akron, I gotta tell you...something's different.

I don't know. Maybe it's a five year thing.  Yeah, we've been abroad for almost 5 years, so there's a good chance that this amount of time has something to do with it.  More than likely when you've been away from your country, your people, your hometown, for about 5 years you start to see all of that with rose tinted glasses.  Sure, I'll allow that.  But.

Two years ago when we came back for our visit, things didn't seem right.  People were gloomy, like more than is normal for folks in Northeast Ohio in October.  There were several times I felt downright unsafe, in places I'd never felt threatened before.  The roads were a mess, like worse than Belgium.  It was disconcerting and depressing.  We were more than ready to come back to Germany at the end of the trip.  Look, I'm not naive about Akron's crime and drug problem.  I'm from Akron, ok?  There have been a few close calls in the past, like "Am I going to get shot?" close calls .  I have a healthy respect for Akron's issues, and in no way do I want to gloss those over.  Akron isn't a shining city.  No city is, folks.  But, I think, I honestly think that Akron is improving.  We were out late and I photographed around downtown by myself at some odd hours a couple of times.  Memory, experience, and common sense told me that this could be risky and to be careful.  But, nothing happened.  Not even when it should have.  At one moment, I thought for sure I was going to have some trouble.  It was really early, still dark, no one was around, I was by myself, and set up on Main St. (it will always be Main Street to me) with quite a bit of gear.  A sketchy looking guy started approaching me.  I was prepared for this sort of thing.  There's no delusion in me that everyone is basically good, that dialogue can get you out of bad situations every time.  Sometimes you have to make tracks, quick.  Sometimes you have to throw a punch.  My gear was in my bag on my back, and I had enough time to take my camera off Brian the Tripod.  I figured Brian would do rather well as a self defense tool since he's kinda beefy when collapsed down.  I didn't run off though.  To be honest, I didn't want to lose the light.  You know what happened?  This guy walked right up to me, and (as I gripped Brian a little tighter) he rather eccentrically said, "Good morning!" He smiled, I returned the greeting, and then he continued on his way.  That nasty, unsafe feeling we had two years ago never showed up.  Ok, yes, the weather was beautiful and that definitely affects peoples' moods.  But, it wasn't just a bit more cheerfulness, it was a lot more cheerfulness.  People we didn't even know, by the way, were downright jovial and welcoming. If it weren't for the accent, at times I would have thought we were back in Ireland.

The Bike Share bikes at Northside in front of the new shiny
Marriott Hotel.

There are new businesses in downtown Akron and they're locally owned and one of a kind.  There were new restaurants and bars, and the ones we tried were all good, like really good.  Sure, a couple more old buildings had been knocked down and there are still plenty of empty storefronts.  But, there are less.  And that's something.  I swear there were more flowers.  There were definitely more bikes.  Heck, did you know that Akron has a bike share now?  The organization is a little clunky, but it's something.  Also, there's even a short section of protected lane on Main St. So, if you work downtown you can rent a bike at one of the many locations, and ride right down Main to Diamond Deli (which thankfully hasn't changed a bit) where the lane ends.

Ok, let me go back to the bar and restaurant topic.  For the past three years going out to dinner has lost its luster.   We go out rarely and usually only because we don't have time to cook.  The biggest decision we have to make is whether we want to order the schnitzel or the wurst.  Drink choices are soda, pilsner, or water.  We get really excited when we travel because there's a good chance we'll get to have something more exciting than pork and yellow beer.  The trips home to Akron are even more thrilling because we get to enjoy all our old favorites that we can't get at all in Europe.  Hello, tacos!  Hello, pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage, peppers, and onions!  Hello, SWENSON'S, baby!  Hello, you crazy wonderful American craft beer (and unsweetened iced tea and bourbon)!  Really, home leave trips are mostly for the food.  Ok, not totally, but it's right up there with seeing the people we love.  So, as you might imagine, we plan our eating very carefully.  The goal is to hit as many places as possible, balancing new with old.  Must eats every single year are Mr. G's Pizza, Swenson's, the Diamond Deli, and Crave.

Main Street

This year we had few new places on the list- Dante Boccuzzi Akron, Nuevo Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar, and Chop & Swizzle.  DBA and Nuevo have been around for a few years, but we hadn't had chances to try them out yet on past trips.  Chop & Swizzle is brand new.  I can't tell you which one was my favorite.  They're too different to compete and the food at all three was fantastic.  DBA, in my humble meat eater opinion, is a better long term fit for the city and the Northside District than Chrissie Hynde's old place (no offense to the Akron rocker).  They certainly make a much better steak ;-) Nuevo definitely has a way with Mexican flavors and tequila, and we were talking about our meal for days afterwards.  The most unique place, however, was Chop & Swizzle.

Look at these lovely concoctions from Chop & Swizzle!

I used to work just down the road from the old firehouse on Maple and drove by it several times a week.  It's a great building and when it was bought and cleaned up like 6 or 7 years ago I had hopes that something would come to live there.  The neighborhood is a little sketchy though, and nothing ever came in, until earlier this year when the craft cocktail bar opened it's doors.  I heard about it on Facebook and immediately put it on the must list.  We have a thing for cocktails.  We've been mixing long before it was a hipster thing and after years of nothing but German beer and schnapps as alcohol options, we've amped up our mixing game.  Now, I'd much rather enjoy a crafted cocktail or neat Scotch when a little something besides water is the order of the day. We love discovering and mixing out new recipes from modern mixologists and bars like Death & Co.  and The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog or mixing the classics from the Prohibition Era.

Where the magic happens.

When we heard Akron had a cocktail bar that made the sort of drinks we loved, we got really excited.  I'm happy to report that it lived up to our dreams.  First off, the service is fantastic.  If you don't like something, they'll mix you something different.  They'll help you find something that may become your new favorite thing.   Oh, and the food is pretty amazing.  I didn't really expect that.  We were going to go someplace else afterwards, but we stayed there.  It was that good.  And it's not just the drinks, food or the service that won our hearts.  They are approaching Akron in a new and exciting way and it's an example of why I think the city is moving in the right direction.  The folks of Chop & Swizzle seemed to say, "Yeah, okay, the neighborhood isn't great.  But, it isn't going to get better if no one ever tries to make it better.  Let's be those people."  They weren't afraid.

There's a ton of people who don't seem to be afraid to make things better in Akron now.  They're taking risks.  They're opening cocktail bars (there's actually another- Northside Speakeasy. We didn't have a chance to make it there this time), galleries, independent movie theaters, boutiques, ice cream shops, children's museums, restaurants, and jazz clubs.  They're organizing neighborhood festivals, making music, writing books, taking photos, making art, and publishing free newspapers (shout out to The Devil Strip).  They're getting their hands dirty.  To my eyes, the eyes of someone who hasn't been around much, these people already accomplished a lot.  My theory is that this is going to snowball.  Positivity breeds positive things.

Lock Bottom Jazz is still happening at Lock 4, one of my favorite nooks of the city.

Norka is back! How cool is that! Please buy those sodas,
they're delicious.

So, my lovely Akron people.  Keep it up!  You're there every day so maybe you haven't noticed these changes.   They may not be as dramatic for you. But, you know what?  Things are better than they were.  I know that the road construction is a huge pain in the neck right now.  But, the really cool thing about it is that it means they are finally fixing the roads!  I mean, they're actually trying to improve the interchange!  They're getting rid of that hated innerbelt.  The City is finally dealing with those glaring problems.  Finally.  You get what a big deal that is?

Please do me a couple of favors while we're still gone.  First, don't listen to candidates that come to town and make Akron sound like a crime ridden cesspool.  It isn't.  Akron isn't out of the woods, I know.  But, if you only focus on its problems in a negative way, you're going to blow your chance to join in the good stuff and improve your town.  Akron has so much potential and for the first time in a long time a lot of folks are seeing it and pursuing it.  So, secondly, focus on that.  Participate.  Support all these homegrown businesses.  Please go out downtown.  Start your evenings at Chop & Swizzle, Northside Speakeasy, Thirsty Dog Brewing, or Hoppin' Frog.  Get your dinners at the one of  a kind places you can only find locally- Crave, Bricco, Nuevo Mexican, DBA, etc.  Get your sandwiches at Diamond Deli, your fast food at Swenson's.  Get your coffees at Angel Falls and Nervous Dog. Go hear stuff at Musica, Blu Jazz+, and Jilly's Music Room.  Go see a flick at the Nightlight. See a show at the Goodyear Theater and The Civic. Invest in your city.  I'm not gonna lie, I really want all this cool stuff to still be around when we get to come home.  I'm depending on you to make that happen for me.

I can tell you one thing.  Right now, for the first time ever in these almost 5 years, we are dying to get back to Akron.  Seriously.  Maybe it's just because it's been five years, or because it was sunny for two weeks, or we are really tired of schnitzel, or everyone is still riding that National Championship high.  But, I'm pretty darn certain this change is deeper than that. We're two people itching to join in.  Two more years feels like a long time, but I cannot wait to see what this new movement is going to pull off in that time.  What we saw, what we experienced, what is to come has us believing that Akron can become the city we always hoped it could.  I read somewhere recently that Akron is more than a few great bands and a basketball player.  Whoever said that is right.  A place is its people, and Akron has some seriously good people in it.  Keep moving forward.  It's a long road, but come on.  You're Akron.  You can do this.  We can't wait to join you.

To print and download most of these photos and others I shot in Akron check out the Ohio Cities gallery on the website!