Akron Stories collects, preserves, and celebrates the stories of Akron’s rubber workers.
Funded exclusively by commemorative brick sales, Akron Stories has interviewed hundreds of rubber workers and their descendants, capturing thousands of stories, and produces mini-documentary films that bring each story to life using family photographs and archival film.
A Legacy in Story
Making History
The Rubber Worker Statue & Stories project was launched in 2016 by Miriam Ray, a resident of Tallmadge (OH). Miriam tirelessly advocated for the statue, developing the project in collaboration with Craig Thompson (architect), Beth Becker (media), Alan Cottrill (sculptor), and Mac Love (project leader).
In 2019, Mayor Dan Horrigan commissioned Alan Cottrill to produce and install the Rubber Worker Statue as the centerpiece of the new roundabout on S. Main & Mill Street, in downtown Akron. The 12-foot high bronze statue is inspired by the image on the cover of the 1999 book Wheels of Fortune: The Story of Rubber in Akron, by David Giffels and Steve Love, and was installed in 2021.
Commemorative Plaza
The Rubber Worker Statue & Akron Stories historic plaza are the centerpiece of Akron’s newly built Main Street corridor. The plaza features more than 1,800 commemorative bricks to rubber workers, a marble bench engraved with the words of national poet laureate Rita Dove, and signage recognizing the vital contributions of Women and African Americans to Akron’s rubber industry.
