Gothic Bldg and Colonial Theatre - Akron, Ohio - Photos Then and Now on Waymarking.com

The four-story Gothic Building was designed by local architect Frank O. Weary. It is an interpretation of the English Gothic revival of the late 18th century. During the late 1920s, it housed the editorial office of “Akron Topics,” a social and literary periodical published from 1922 to 1930. The building stands on an arcade of Tudor arches. Those on the north façade (Mill St) delineate retail shops and are aligned with windows above. Yellow bricks surround the façade openings, emphasizing the vertical and contrasting with orange brickwork of the building’s body. It originally had a hip roof. The building was recently renovated and dedicated on November 25, 2009. It is mostly vacant. It has been proposed for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Colonial Theatre opened on March 2, 1902. The theatre part was red brick and abutted the High St side of the Gothic Bldg. The entrance to the theatre had a limestone façade. It abutted the Mill St side of the Gothic Bldg. The Colonial Theatre was a magnificent jewel box of a theatre with three rather steep and shallow balconies. It seated up to 1,600 people. The theatre featured musicals, vaudeville and motion-pictures. The theatre was closed and demolished in the 1960s and replaced by an ugly two-level parking deck.

Year photo was taken: 1907

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/08/2009 buffalohiker visited it