The Glendale Steps, which connect Glendale Park to the West Hill neighborhood in Akron, have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Constructed in 1937, the steps were added to the register because of their significant Romanesque Revival style architecture and as the work of landscape architect Warren Manning, who is most famous for designing the gardens at Stan Hywet, according to a news release from nonprofit group Progress Through Preservation of Greater Akron.
Manning began plans for the steps in 1929, when the Akron Garden Club commissioned him for improvements to the park area, according to the release. The steps finally began construction during the Great Depression in 1936 with Works Progress Administration funding. Other planned improvements to the park were cancelled due to budget problems during the Depression.
Progress Through Preservation began the process to get the steps recognized on the National Register about a year ago. They submitted the application to the National Parks Service because they wanted more people to visit the steps and appreciate their history, said Dana Noel, the group's advocacy chair.
“They've been there for 100 years,” he said. “We just thought, ‘what a shame to let this forgotten monument not be remembered.’”
Progress Through Preservation is in the beginning stages of planning efforts to restore the Glendale Steps. A structural engineer identified areas for the restoration, and the next steps will be to finalize costs and fundraise in Akron and neighboring communities, Noel added.
“The whole area is technically in Akron Park, but it's never really received the attention or maintenance that the other parks have, so we want to see that resurrected and we want to see it become an asset to the community,” Noel said. “As we move forward now with plans and a spec for the repair, we can solicit prices and then start our fundraising effort.”
The group hopes the renovation will revitalize the area, Noel said.
“We're hoping, you know, by restoring the steps, this will be a centerpiece for reactivating that whole area and become a really nice amenity for the community,” he said.
