Akron sits in northeastern Ohio, on the Little Cuyahoga River, in a region that was once the center of America's rubber industry. Even nowadays Akron still holds the headquarters of some rubber corporations and chemical and polymer corporations. It is an industrial town and there are many manufactures that range from fishing tackle to plastics, missiles, rubber and heavy machinery.
Akron's growth was spurred by the opening of the Ohio and Erie Canal in 1827 and the arrival of the railroad several years later. The city's first rubber plant was opened in 1870 and later, Akron's rubber industry grew and declined with Detroit's automobile industry, as it was mainly focused on tire production. The first rubber plant was established in 1870, but by the mid-1980's, virtually all the tire plants had shut down.
In Akron you can visit the University of Akron, the Institute of Rubber Research, an art institute, a music center and a symphony orchestra. Of note is the huge Goodyear Air Dock, one of the world's largest structures without inner supports and the annual Soapbox Derby.
Accommodation and restaurants are available in Akron. The city is 175 km northeast of Ohio's state capital of Columbus and 450 km northwest of Washington D.C.