Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Plant No. 1, Neon Sign, 1200 Firestone Parkway, Akron

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Designed by Harpster & Bliss and constructed in Plant No. 1 was made specifically for the production of Firestone tires. Harvey Firestone s creativity, business philosophy, and acts of social responsibility led Firestone Tire & Rubber to become the world s largest producer of natural and synthetic rubber. The neon sign atop Plant No. 1 is the last remaining neon sign built during the time of Harvey Firestone. Description: The F-I-R-E-S-T-O-N-E and Shield made of steel sheets painted red with red neon tube lighting soar about 90 feet above the ground plane and about 20 feet above the roof level of Firestone s Plant No. 1. The letters and shield are fastened to steel frame, part of which cantilevers over the edge of Plant No. 1. Plant No.

1 is an east facing, common bond, buff brick, industrial building constructed of reinforced concrete. Built in as a factory and office building, it was originally nineteen bays across, eighteen bays deep and four stories tall. Sitting on a concrete foundation, the partially raised basement and first floor had a rectangular footprint, while floors two through four were shaped like two capital H s placed next to each other within the rectangle with a central corridor connecting them through the middle. Each leg or wing of the H-H is three bays wide and eight bays long. Soon after completion, the north and south sides of the building were extended eight bays, stretching the rectangular footprint on the first floor and lengthening each wing to sixteen bays.

Rows of monitors that once let light into the manufacturing spaces can be found on the flat roofs. The monitors are on the upper roofs as well as on the roof of the first floor between the legs of the H. The monitors are now covered with corrugated metal and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) roofing material. There is speculation that during times of war production the company s signs were removed and the monitors were covered to ensure anonymity and provide better security from possible enemy air surveillance. The current roof is a flat roof of varying materials with numerous equipment penetrations. Notable to the appearance of Plant No. 1 is a large neon sign on the northeast corner of the building, advertising the Firestone name and shield. The sign addresses the city.

It is not the first sign that held that position. The first sign was removed prior to or during World War ll. Plant No. 2 (further down the Firestone mile and now demolished) also had a sign that was removed. A new sign was replaced on Plant

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Plant

No. 1, NEON SIGN HABS No. OH-697-A (Page 2) No. 2 facing those entering the city from the highway. As evidenced by photos taken in (Daniel Manziel), this sign was salvaged from Plant No. 2 and placed on Plant No. 1 when Plant No. 2 was razed. The sign that stands atop Plant No. 1 today features the characteristic Firestone font and red neon tube lighting that reflects the shape of the letters and shield. The lit sign can be seen from the highway, and when approaching from downtown Akron. The font of the Firestone sign is similar to Blackletter, also known as Gothic script. Gothic was a script used throughout Western Europe from the end of the twelfth century to well into the seventeenth century. It continued to be used for the German language until the twentieth century.

Blackletter is sometimes called Old English, but it is not to be confused with the Old English language. The structure of the sign contains many repetitively shaped steel plates and bolted connections. A few of the irregularly shaped plates suggest that they were field fabricated specifically for this sign. This is corroborated by seemingly missing connections suggesting that the pieces may have been moved from elsewhere. There is evidence to suggest the iron grid which holds the sign may have been the grid which was formerly located on Plant No. 2, and the grid may have been reused. A photo from shows Plant No. 1 with a different sign than it has currently. Notable differences include the addition of the Firestone shield on the end of the sign now on Plant No. 1.

Another photo from shows Plant No. 1 again, this time with no neon Firestone sign. Similarly, a photo of Plant No. 2 also from just prior to demolition, shows a sign atop Plant No. 2 that highly resembles the sign currently on Plant No. 1. The shield appears to be of newer vintage then that of the entirety of the work. The current location of the sign is angled toward the highway which is in the direction of the expansion of the city of Akron. History: In September Harvey Firestone maintained a tire factory on East Miller Avenue in Akron, Ohio. This plant, according to the press releases given by the Firestone Company to the Akron Beacon Journal, the local newspaper, was becoming inadequate to house the growing rubber business. Harvey Firestone then purchased land nearby.

This would be the site of the first building that was built specifically for the company, and among the last buildings to remain in Akron that can be associated directly with Harvey Samuel Firestone. The area about Firestone Parkway is industrial in nature, though when Firestone purchased the property, it was farmland just outside of the city limits, two blocks south of their East Miller location. The existing buildings that remain on the property today are Plant No. 1, the Triangle Building, previously known as the Warehouse and Shipping Facility, and the Club House. These buildings each had a different function, but were clearly complementary in purpose, style, and FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY PLANT No. 1, NEON SIGN HABS No. OH-697-A (Page 3) materials. Plant No.

1, the largest of the buildings and first to be constructed, was designed by Harpster and Bliss in The Firestone sign, as, sits on top of Plant No. 1 currently. The exact date it was constructed at this spot is unknown. Documentation through historical photos and postcards suggests that a sign was originally placed facing toward the center of Akron on a Plant No. 2, which was later torn down. The sign that exists facing the highway and downtown Akron currently is very similar to the original sign on Plant No. 2, and could be the same one, moved to the new location. The evidence suggests that there was a Firestone sign in that location until the beginning of World War II in This sign was likely removed to protect the city from being spotted by enemy bombers from the air.

It should also be understood that, though there is one sign in existence today and that the original location of this Firestone neon sign may have been on Plant No. 2, which was torn down, at one point two signs existed simultaneously on two separate structures. It is believed that the sign we see today is the sign from Plant No. 2 which had been relocated to the corner of Plant No. 1. In the history of the Firestone Company, changes have been made to their logo. Differences are mostly found in the shape and number of sides on the shield as well as a variation with the F becoming rounder and wider. The final character, which is a shield and is found on the main sign, has a 3D aspect but stays true to the original red/black/white colors of the traditional company logo.

One noticeable difference in the Firestone logo throughout the years is the tittle over the letter i. The Firestone Mile sign does not contain the tittle over the i but graphics from earlier years do. It should be noted that the Firestone Company, as of does not use the tittle in their logo.