Quaker Square was a shopping and dining complex located in downtown Akron, Ohio which is now used by the University of Akron. Quaker Square was the original Quaker Oats factory; the complex consists of the former mill, factory, and silos. The buildings were bought in the early 1970s by developers who sought to create a unique, useful home for shops and restaurants. The buildings were bought by the University of Akron in 2007. The hotel has been converted to a residence hall. The retail space consisted of dozens of small shops and restaurants, and there were large areas of historic exhibits on such areas as the local Quaker industry and history of radio in Akron, while offices were on the floors above. Quaker Square was open to the general public until September 18, 2015. The hotel no longer accepts reservations as the former hotel rooms and the entire complex is operated exclusively for student and university use. However, ballrooms are still available for catered events and conferences.[2]
The Quaker Oats company was formed by the merger of several businesses, one was the Akron-based German Mills American Oatmeal Company founded by Ferdinand Schumacher. Schumacher's facility, first built in 1872, was destroyed by fire in 1886, then was rebuilt at the same location. Those buildings formed the basis of the Quaker Oats Cereal Factory. The complex consisted of cereal production facilities, warehouses, and rail-siding sheds.[3] Quaker Oats built 36 grain silos on the site in 1932. Each silo was 120 feet tall and 24 feet in diameter, and together they housed 1.5 million bushels of grain.[4]
The complex is now the only remaining visual reminder of what was once Akron's largest single employer. Quaker Oats terminated production in Akron in 1970. The entire complex was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[3]
Mall
The facility was repurposed in March 1973, and reopened 1 April 1975 with four shops and an ice cream parlor.[4]
The silos were converted into a Hilton Hotel which opened in 1980.[5] Later it became a Crowne Plaza hotel. The hotel is built into the suite of silos and is famed for its 196 completely round rooms. (Source: "Quaker Chronicle" promotional sheet available at the hotel.)
The Trackside Grille & Ice Cream Parlor, a restaurant themed with railroads which run parallel to the building, also provided a narrative of Akron's history. The Trackside Dining Room was constructed with the beams and columns of the factory building. (Source: "Quaker Chronicle" promotional sheet available at the hotel.)
The Quaker Square General Store offered oatmeal cookies, pie-baking classes for children, and "nostalgic" candy. (Source: "Quaker Chronicle" promotional sheet available at the hotel.)
Purchase by University of Akron
In mid-June 2007 the University of Akron bought the complex for $22,679,000 with plans to convert it into student housing and office space.[5] The university planned to house more than 400 students in the converted hotel starting with the 2008 spring semester.[6] In January 2008, the university began to use the upper floors of the hotel as a residence hall.
Under contract with UA, RDA Management of Fairlawn operated 95 hotel rooms on the four bottom floors of the silos for the following two years. The university agreed to keep those rooms available to the public for that period to give the city an opportunity to secure more hotel space for downtown visitors and tourists. On June 30, 2013 the hotel was closed and converted entirely into student housing. The last of the shops at Quaker Square, as well as Trackside, closed in 2016. The only remaining store was a Zee's store which is a convenience store for students to buy groceries and snacks.[7] As of August 2018, Zee's moved to the lobby of UA's Quaker Hall, leaving the retail portion empty. That side of the complex continues to house offices on the second, third, and fourth floors.
Gallery
Quaker Square as it appeared in 1979
Quaker Hall at The University of Akron (formerly known as The Crowne Plaza Quaker Square hotel and Quaker Square Inn)
The New York-Chicago Broadway Limited was replaced with the New York-Pittsburgh Three Rivers on September 10, 1995, ending service to Akron.[8] The Three Rivers was extended to Chicago through Akron on November 10, 1996; however, Amtrak and the city disagreed over who would pay for necessary repairs to the station.[9] Akron station reopened on August 10, 1998 – the last of several ex-Broadway stops to be restored.[10]: 35 The Three Rivers was cut back to Pittsburgh as the Pennsylvanian on March 7, 2005, ending service to Akron again.[8]
^Biliczky, Carol. "Akron's landmark Quaker Square hotel to close Sunday". ohio.com. from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
^ abRichard C. Foran (January 10, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Quaker Oats Cereal Factory" (PDF). National Park Service. (PDF) from the original on 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
^ ab"Crown Plaza Quaker Square History". from the original on 2007-09-13. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
^ ab. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012.
^. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
^"UA to close last remaining stores inside Quaker Square, General Store and NewsStand Comics". from the original on August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
^ abcSanders, Craig (2007). Akron Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. p. 93. ISBN9780738541419. from the original on 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-13 – via Google Books.
^ abSanders, Craig (December 21, 2016). "Ex-Amtrak Station Frozen in Time in Akron". Amtrak in the Heartland.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quaker Square.
Quaker Square, about.com
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. OH-17, "Quaker Oats Cereal Factory, Southeast corner of Broadway & Mill Streets, Akron, Summit County, OH", 23 photos, 8 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
January 09, 2023
quaker, square, shopping, dining, complex, located, downtown, akron, ohio, which, used, university, akron, original, quaker, oats, factory, complex, consists, former, mill, factory, silos, buildings, were, bought, early, 1970s, developers, sought, create, uniq. Quaker Square was a shopping and dining complex located in downtown Akron Ohio which is now used by the University of Akron Quaker Square was the original Quaker Oats factory the complex consists of the former mill factory and silos The buildings were bought in the early 1970s by developers who sought to create a unique useful home for shops and restaurants The buildings were bought by the University of Akron in 2007 The hotel has been converted to a residence hall The retail space consisted of dozens of small shops and restaurants and there were large areas of historic exhibits on such areas as the local Quaker industry and history of radio in Akron while offices were on the floors above Quaker Square was open to the general public until September 18 2015 The hotel no longer accepts reservations as the former hotel rooms and the entire complex is operated exclusively for student and university use However ballrooms are still available for catered events and conferences 2 Quaker SquareGeneral informationTypeStudent ResidenceLocation135 S Broadway St University of Akron Akron Ohio United StatesCompleted1932Opening1975Quaker Oats Cereal FactoryU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of OhioShow map of the United StatesLocation120 E Mill St Akron OhioCoordinates41 4 52 N 81 30 54 W 41 08111 N 81 51500 W 41 08111 81 51500 Coordinates 41 4 52 N 81 30 54 W 41 08111 N 81 51500 W 41 08111 81 51500Area4 acres 2 ha Built1886NRHP reference No 78002195 1 Added to NRHPDecember 8 1978 Contents 1 History 2 Mall 3 Purchase by University of Akron 4 Gallery 5 Former Amtrak station 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditThe Quaker Oats company was formed by the merger of several businesses one was the Akron based German Mills American Oatmeal Company founded by Ferdinand Schumacher Schumacher s facility first built in 1872 was destroyed by fire in 1886 then was rebuilt at the same location Those buildings formed the basis of the Quaker Oats Cereal Factory The complex consisted of cereal production facilities warehouses and rail siding sheds 3 Quaker Oats built 36 grain silos on the site in 1932 Each silo was 120 feet tall and 24 feet in diameter and together they housed 1 5 million bushels of grain 4 The complex is now the only remaining visual reminder of what was once Akron s largest single employer Quaker Oats terminated production in Akron in 1970 The entire complex was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 3 Mall EditThe facility was repurposed in March 1973 and reopened 1 April 1975 with four shops and an ice cream parlor 4 The silos were converted into a Hilton Hotel which opened in 1980 5 Later it became a Crowne Plaza hotel The hotel is built into the suite of silos and is famed for its 196 completely round rooms Source Quaker Chronicle promotional sheet available at the hotel The Trackside Grille amp Ice Cream Parlor a restaurant themed with railroads which run parallel to the building also provided a narrative of Akron s history The Trackside Dining Room was constructed with the beams and columns of the factory building Source Quaker Chronicle promotional sheet available at the hotel The Quaker Square General Store offered oatmeal cookies pie baking classes for children and nostalgic candy Source Quaker Chronicle promotional sheet available at the hotel Purchase by University of Akron EditIn mid June 2007 the University of Akron bought the complex for 22 679 000 with plans to convert it into student housing and office space 5 The university planned to house more than 400 students in the converted hotel starting with the 2008 spring semester 6 In January 2008 the university began to use the upper floors of the hotel as a residence hall Under contract with UA RDA Management of Fairlawn operated 95 hotel rooms on the four bottom floors of the silos for the following two years The university agreed to keep those rooms available to the public for that period to give the city an opportunity to secure more hotel space for downtown visitors and tourists On June 30 2013 the hotel was closed and converted entirely into student housing The last of the shops at Quaker Square as well as Trackside closed in 2016 The only remaining store was a Zee s store which is a convenience store for students to buy groceries and snacks 7 As of August 2018 Zee s moved to the lobby of UA s Quaker Hall leaving the retail portion empty That side of the complex continues to house offices on the second third and fourth floors Gallery Edit Quaker Square as it appeared in 1979 Quaker Hall at The University of Akron formerly known as The Crowne Plaza Quaker Square hotel and Quaker Square Inn National Historic Place seal Former Amtrak station EditAkron OH Former Amtrak stationGeneral informationLocation96 East Bowery Street Akron OhioCoordinates41 04 48 N 81 30 56 W 41 08000 N 81 51556 W 41 08000 81 51556Owned byAmtrakPlatforms1 former Tracks2Other informationStation codeAKOHistoryOpenedNovember 10 1990August 10 1998ClosedSeptember 10 1995March 7 2005Former servicesPreceding station Amtrak Following stationFostoriatoward Chicago Three Rivers1998 2005 Youngstowntoward New YorkBroadway Limited1990 1995Akron station located at Quaker Square was served by Amtrak passenger trains during the 1990s and 2000s Ramp to former platform The former Akron Union Station slightly to the south was closed in 1971 when Amtrak did not include a Washington Chicago train on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad B amp O as part of its initial route structure 8 On November 10 1990 the Broadway Limited was rerouted from the ex Pennsylvania Railroad Fort Wayne Line to the ex B amp O Union Station had been reused by the University of Akron Amtrak used part of the former platform and constructed a modular station building at Quaker Square 9 The New York Chicago Broadway Limited was replaced with the New York Pittsburgh Three Rivers on September 10 1995 ending service to Akron 8 The Three Rivers was extended to Chicago through Akron on November 10 1996 however Amtrak and the city disagreed over who would pay for necessary repairs to the station 9 Akron station reopened on August 10 1998 the last of several ex Broadway stops to be restored 10 35 The Three Rivers was cut back to Pittsburgh as the Pennsylvanian on March 7 2005 ending service to Akron again 8 References Edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service March 13 2009 Biliczky Carol Akron s landmark Quaker Square hotel to close Sunday ohio com Archived from the original on 2013 07 01 Retrieved 2013 07 01 a b Richard C Foran January 10 1978 National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form Quaker Oats Cereal Factory PDF National Park Service Archived PDF from the original on 2015 11 22 Retrieved 2015 02 08 a b Crown Plaza Quaker Square History Archived from the original on 2007 09 13 Retrieved 2007 08 17 a b University of Akron News UA Buys Quaker Square Complex Archived from the original on February 7 2012 About Downtown Akron Partnership Archived from the original on September 30 2007 Retrieved August 19 2007 UA to close last remaining stores inside Quaker Square General Store and NewsStand Comics Archived from the original on August 28 2018 Retrieved August 18 2015 a b c Sanders Craig 2007 Akron Railroads Arcadia Publishing p 93 ISBN 9780738541419 Archived from the original on 2021 10 08 Retrieved 2018 10 13 via Google Books a b Sanders Craig December 21 2016 Ex Amtrak Station Frozen in Time in Akron Amtrak in the Heartland Sanders Craig 2006 Amtrak in the Heartland Bloomington Indiana Indiana University Press ISBN 978 0 253 34705 3 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quaker Square Quaker Square about com Historic American Engineering Record HAER No OH 17 Quaker Oats Cereal Factory Southeast corner of Broadway amp Mill Streets Akron Summit County OH 23 photos 8 data pages 2 photo caption pages Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Quaker Square amp oldid 1105687287, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
