Akron, Ohio – Cascade Plaza downtown (Main & Market streets). The tall white building (First Nat’l Tower, 1920’s) was/is the largest building of its type in Akron, but the Goodyear Airdock built around the same time is actually taller, and covers at least as much ground as this entire plaza. This plaza and the ‘Innerbelt’ connector to the I-77/76/71 freeways was a major urban renewal project in the early 1970’s, just before the rubber companies started closing down and moving elsewhere. To the left of the white building in the background you can see the Quaker Oats complex and silos. Akron was the leading producer of cereals in the late 1800’s before rubber production started, and the Quaker Oats silos stood mostly unused until they were turned into a multi-story mini-mall in the 1970’s. Once the rubber companies and associated industries started leaving, interest in the mini-mall fell off and much of it was converted into Akron U student apartments. Behind the camera is the Thomas Edison mansion where I lived at one time. To the right of the plaza about 1/2 mile is a full-size baseball stadium build for the Akron Aeros minor league baseball team, circa 1990’s. Between the plaza and the stadium were (until the 1980’s) two huge department stores modeled after Macy’s etc., occupying several acres each on the ground (not including parking) with merchandise on 5 or 6 floors. I bought my first programmable computer in one of those stores in 1975.
Leica T/18-56, f11, 1/500 handheld, ISO 200.
Leica X2 Paul Smith edition, Leica X-E, Panasonic ZS-100.
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