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About APS Links
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About APS – History
What's in a Name?
Former
School Names
|
Name of School |
Year of Construction
|
Last Year to House
Students
|
| Allen |
1879 |
1967 |
|
Bowen (now the Administration Building) |
1916 |
1939 |
| Bryan |
1896 |
1978 |
|
Central-Hower |
1973 |
2006 |
| Colonial |
1915 |
1964 |
|
Crosby (houses the Akron
Alternative Academy) |
1877 |
2005 |
| Fraunfelter |
1904 |
1980 |
| Grace |
1890 |
1977 |
| Guinther (houses Adult Basic &
Literacy Education, Child Study, and the Local Professional Development Committee) |
1958 |
1993 |
| Henry |
1883 |
1978 |
|
Hotchkiss (houses Betty Jane
Learning Center) |
1927 |
2006 |
| Howe |
1879 |
1972 |
| Hower Vocational (former Perkins
Elementary) |
1920 |
1975 |
| Kent (South Arlington location) |
1891 |
1940 |
| Lane |
1902 |
1980 |
| Maple Valley (annexed from the
township and renamed Rankin Annex) |
1914 |
1993 |
| Miller (now the Conrad C. Ott Staff
Development Center) |
1900 |
1973 |
| Perkins (renamed Hower) |
1900 |
1949 |
| Spicer (earlier buildings on site) |
1927 |
1968 |
| Thomastown |
1921 |
1973 |
| Thornton (formerly South High) |
1910 |
1979 |
| West |
1913 |
1980 |
|
Bowen School |
|
Three schools have been located on the 70 North Broadway site.
The first, called "Broadway School," was a house which was
used as a school in the 1850s. The second, pictured to the
right, was called "Bowen School." It was built in 1870 and
named for Dr. William Bowen, a physician, teacher, editor
and member of the Akron Board of Education. |
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|
In 1916 the original Bowen School was razed, and a new school
was built on the site. Bowen School was closed to students
in 1939 and became the Administration Building in 1939. |
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Central-Hower High School |
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The name of Central-Hower High School was adopted in 1970 when
the student bodies of Central High School at Forge Street
and Hower Vocational School at Exchange Street were merged
into a new high school facility on the site of the old
Central building. Both of the original schools have a rich
tradition. The original Central building on the Forge Street
site opened in 1886. Known as Akron High School, the school
was renamed Central High School in 1911 when the Akron Board
of Education opened a second high school
― South. Hower Vocational School was named for M. Otis Hower
(1858-1916), an Akron manufacturing leader. He was an
officer of the American Cereal Co. (the forerunner of the
Quaker Oats Co.) as well as many other area enterprises. |
 |
|
Central-Hower High School was constructed in 1973 (the 1924
auditorium was included in the new complex) and opened in
September 1975. The school closed at the end of the 2005-06
school year and served as swing space during the district's
renovation/rebuilding project. |
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Crosby Elementary School |
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Eliakim Crosby helped to make Akron a manufacturing center. In
1825, he contracted to build a section of the Ohio Canal
between Bethlehem and Zoar. About the same time, he
purchased an iron smelting furnace in Middlebury and
embarked on the manufacture of plows and other iron
agricultural implements. In need of more water power for his
manufacturing enterprises, he constructed the Cascade Mill
Race, which conducted water from the Little Cuyahoga River
to a point near Lock 5 on the Ohio Canal. Completion of the
race led to the founding in 1833 of the village of Cascade. |
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Crosby Elementary School was constructed in 1877 (first
building), with a second building constructed in 1923. The
school was named in honor of Dr. Eliakim Crosby (1779-1854).
Crosby Elementary School closed to students at the end of
the 2003-04 school year and reopened as the Akron
Alternative Academy. |
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Hotchkiss Elementary School |
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Henry Vernon Hotchkiss came to Akron in 1900 to become
superintendent. For the next 20 years, under his direction,
the Akron Public Schools system experienced great expansion.
From 1910-20, three high schools and 13 grade schools were
constructed; and many additions were made to older
buildings. Besides functioning as superintendent, Dr.
Hotchkiss was the business manager for the Board of
Education. Among the innovations which occurred under his
regime were: free books and supplies for all students; gyms
and cafeterias in the high schools; open-air schools with
free lunches for undernourished children; and special
classes for the deaf, crippled and blind. Hotchkiss was
built to relieve a temporary school which had been
functioning on the fourth floor of Goodyear Hall. |
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Hotchkiss Elementary School was constructed in 1927, with an
addition built in 1965. The school was named in honor of
Henry V. Hotchkiss (1859-1924). Beginning with the 2006-07
school year, Hotchkiss temporarily housed students from the
Betty Jane Learning Center during the district's
building/renovation project. |
(Back to Top) |
