St Paul's Sunday School and Parish House - Akron, Ohio - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

An Episcopal Church congregation was organized In Akron in October of 1835. Small gatherings for worship in private homes continued for nine years until the first church building was built in 1844. St. Paul’s enjoyed tremendous growth and success, requiring a new and larger church building. Erected for $35,000 in 1884-85 by St Paul’s Episcopal Church, this building was designed specifically as a Sunday school and parish house, and secondarily as a sanctuary. The building has interior arrangements to accommodate the “Akron plan” for graded classes and is a rare early example of its type.

In 1907, an adjacent sanctuary was constructed. A passageway on the northwest side of the Sunday School and Parish House was constructed to connect to the new sanctuary. In 1952, Harvey S. Firestone traded eight acres of land with the church. St. Paul’s constructed a new church at 1361 W Market St on land donated by Firestone while Mr. Firestone donated the former structures to the University of Akron. The former Sunday School and Parish House now serves as the Firestone Conservatory of Music at the University.

The building is designed in High Victorian Gothic Style. It is planned in an irregular cross-shape with four main gables and pointed arch entries at the northeast and southeast angles. Gable walls feature paired lancet windows with a single lug sill on both stories. The upper story openings are accented by an overhead rondel and a corbelled, pointed arch dripstone. A rondel rests in the pinnacle of the gable walls, which are buttressed at the corners. The original construction included a small belfry tower on the north side and small a pointed flèche above the crossing. Both have since been removed.

Street address: 354 E Market St Akron, Ohio USA s44325-0036 County / Borough / Parish: Summit County Year listed: 1976 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1875-1899 Historic function: Religion - Church Related Residence Current function: University of Akron Ballet Center Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   12/28/2009 buffalohiker visited it