by Ken Lahmers
Editor
When I was a lad, trips to the “big city” of Canton were much anticipated. My mom or dad and I motored up old Route 8 from New Philadelphia before I-77 was completed in the 1960s.
I accompanied Mom on weekdays in the summer to her appointments with Dr. Keck and Dad to patronize his favorite hunting and fishing supply shop or sometimes see a high school football game at famous Fawcett Stadium.
Viewing the holiday windows at Stern Mann’s, shopping at Mellett Mall and riding with Dad to pick up his strike pay when his United Steelworkers local was on strike were other reasons to visit.
And I remember a school field trip to the McKinley Monument Historical Center, and some visits to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
But back then I never appreciated the history and old structures the city had to offer. However, now I do.
So on New Year’s Eve, armed with a listing of Canton sites on the National Register of Historic Places, I set out on a driving and walking tour of Canton to look at some old buildings. And there are many to admire.
THEATER AND COURTHOUSE
Canton once had a half-dozen large theaters downtown. Only the Palace on Market Street North remains.
Built in 1926 and shut down in 1976, it avoided the wrecking ball thanks to the Canton Palace Theater Association and generous residents, and has been refurbished to the tune of $4 million.
Industrialist Harry Harper Ink built the theater for about $1 million. It was designed by Chicago architect John Eberson, who was famous for his “atmospheric” theaters across the U.S.
The Palace’s ceiling depicts a starry sky with clouds, and it has its original machine that enables the clouds to move. It features an ornate proscenium arch over the stage. Its lower level and balcony can seat about 1,500 people.
The Palace’s Kilgen Pipe Organ is said to be the only one of its kind in its original venue. In 1982, it was rebuilt by the Kegg Organ Co. over an eight-month period.
The organ chambers are 12 feet wide, 10 feet deep and 15 feet high, and there are 767 pipes. It is capable of producing sounds not heard from church organs.
Organ concerts with Bob Beck at the keys take place throughout the year. The theater hosts about 300 events each year, which attract about 100,000 people.
TRAVELERS down Market Street can see the large vertical “Palace” sign for blocks. Its top is 60 feet above the sidewalk.
Among the large theaters in Canton which have been razed are Loew’s, which was on the opposite side of Market Street and down a block from the Palace; the Valentine, Alhambra and Strand.
Canton also once boasted the City Auditorium in the early part of the 20th century. After having closed in the late 1930s, it became a fire hazard and succumbed to the wrecking ball.
The Memorial Civic Center was built on the site in 1951. It still hosts basketball tournaments, live shows and special events.
The Stark County Courthouse at Market and Tuscarawas Avenue is an example of the Beaux Arts Classicism style of architecture.
The original building opened in 1870, then Cleveland architect George Hammond enlarged it. The addition, which basically encased the original structure, was completed in 1895.
The four-story structure has a clock/bell tower and small cupola. On a platform outside the latter are the “four trumpeters of justice,” or angels blowing trumpets.
The four-dial clock was made by George Michael Deuble, a watch and clock maker who opened Deuble’s Jewelry in 1840. The family business thrived for more than a century.
The courthouse has porticos on two sides, with triple Roman arches along Tuscarawas Avenue, above which rise paired, unfluted columns with large ionic capitals.
In the 1970s/80s, the building was deteriorating, so from 1992-95 an $11 million renovation took place.
CHURCHES, BANKS, HOTELS
Downtown Canton has some stately churches, banks and former hotels. Although some hotel buildings remain, they are not used for that purpose any longer.
West Tuscarawas Avenue’s Trinity Lutheran Church, built in 1885, is one of several remaining buildings designed by architect Guy Tilden in the late 1800s/early 1900s. A block away is the 1883 First Methodist Episcopal, President William McKinley’s home church.
Tilden designed many other famous buildings in Canton, including Bender’s Tavern, the public library, Hotel McKinley (gone), Dueber-Hampden watch factory (gone), Courtland Hotel (gone) and Harvard Co.-Weber Dental Manufacturing.
The Courtland Hotel, built in 1905, was razed a few years ago, but the arch over its entrance stands on the courthouse grounds.
He also designed the Lions Lincoln Theater in Massillon and Congress Lake clubhouse in Lake Township just north of Hartville.
A few blocks east on East Tuscarawas Avenue are the First Reformed (now UCC) and First Lutheran churches with their impressive steeples/bell towers.
The old First National/Central Trust (now Chase) and Harter (now Key) banks are striking structures across from the courthouse.
The George Harter building is three stories high and a good example of a bank vault style, with the vault connecting to a tower.
The former Onesto Hotel is one of the city’s tallest buildings at 14 stories. The lower portion was built in 1930 to house the hotel, and the upper part, called Bliss Tower, was added in 1958.
The old Yohe/St. Francis Hotel at Market and 4th Street NE was built in 1891, when patrons could spend the night for a mere $2.
Sadly, the Frank T. Bow Federal Building sets idle. Built in 1933, it housed a U.S. Bankruptcy Court, post office and IRS during its lifetime. Its last tenants moved to the new Ralph Regula Federal Building last spring.
The immaculate building faces an uncertain future, but eventually could be occupied by county government offices.
More of Canton’s historic buildings will be discussed in this column in the next couple of weeks.
E-mail: klahmers@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3155