Selle Gear Company - Akron, Ohio
N 41° 04.385 W 081° 31.303
17T E 456171 N 4547001
Selle Gear Company, 451 S High St, just south of downtown Akron, Ohio
Waymark Code: WM8NB1
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 04/23/2010
Views: 2
The Selle Gear Company was incorporated September 25, 1886. The timber-frame, four-story red-brick building dates to 1888. A boiler and engine room were attached. It was constructed on Chestnut St (now Selle St) between S High St and Broadway St. Their specialty was the manufacture of the Selle Platform Truss Gears, for omnibuses, three spring wagons and trucks, as well as suspensions and parts for horse-drawn carriages. The Akron Selle Co. was bought in 1903 by Akron's Hower family.
The company grew and evolved over the years, adding buildings and additions as times changed. Akron Selle Co. got into metal stampings before World War I, and for a time built truck bodies. During World War II, workers made military parts. Akron Selle Co. produced parts for cars, trucks and planes -- and even gasoline gauges for dirigibles. Akron Selle continued to make sheet metal stampings for the auto industry until they closed their doors for good in March 2001. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 2005.
The historic property is now known as The Selle Generator Works. This is the latest effort to revitalize an important architectural landmark for a new generation of Akronites. Currently, a variety of space configurations are available for uses ranging from research, prototype fabrication, creative office, restaurant, and entertainment/exhibition.
Street address: 451 S High St Akron, Ohio USA 44308
County / Borough / Parish: Summit County
Year listed: 2005
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1875-1899, 1900-1924, 1925-1949, 1950-1974
Historic function: Industry/Processing/Extraction
Current function: offices/vacant
Privately owned?: yes
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
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