Cole Avenue Housing Project Historic District - Akron, Ohio - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Cole Avenue Housing Project was built by the federal government in 1941 and was Akron's first public defense housing project under federal jurisdiction. It housed defense workers and was later marketed to World War II veterans. The complex features buildings clustered around courtyards, separate areas for pedestrians and vehicles, and large open spaces that reflected the Federal Housing Administration standards of the time. The historic district consists of 61 buildings containing 300 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units in a park-like setting on 24 acres. That includes 29 two-story buildings 104 feet long and 24 feet wide. Each has 12 apartments. The complex is "one of the most unaltered and retains a tremendous amount of historical integrity," wrote architect Michael Englebert Griffin of Shaw Hofstra & Associates Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., in the National Register application. "Cole Avenue is one of only a few throughout the country that has not been removed or adversely renovated."

Street address: 744 Colette Drive Akron, Ohio USA 44306 County / Borough / Parish: Summit County Year listed: 2007 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Social History, Architecture, Community Planning and Development Periods of significance: 1925-1949; 1950-1974 Historic function: Domestic, Social, Recreation and Culture Current function: Domestic, Social, Recreation and Culture 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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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/28/2010 buffalohiker visited it