A brick entryway monument on Howard Street commemorates Hotel Matthews. Opened in 1925 by George Washington Mathews, it was the first Black-owned hotel and barber shop in Akron.
The Green Book-listed establishment hosted jazz musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington— just a few of the celebrated artists who brought their talents to Howard Street. Music swelled from a plethora of venues, including the Green Turtle Hotel and Cafe, the Hi-Hat Cafe and the Silver Leaf. Bolstered by the Union Depot, a train station on the route between New York City and Chicago, Howard Street became a hot spot for music, business and community in the 1930s through ‘60s.
“There were a lot of Black-owned businesses,” says Theron Brown, artistic director of Akron’s Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival and a University of Akron Jazz Studies program co-director and assistant professor of practice. “A lot of Black people would navigate that direction, and not only was it a place for them to hang out and kick it ... but also get your shoes fixed, or maybe you need a suit tailored.”
Hotel Matthews was demolished in 1982, alongside many other Howard Street buildings, to create space for Akron’s failed Innerbelt.
“People owned houses. To have that taken away and then to start over, that not only ruined those people’s lives but all the generations after that followed,” says Brown. “We really missed out on the potential of a whole group of people.”
A celebrated pianist who recently helped to facilitate a University of Akron UnClass on the rise, fall and culture of Howard Street, Brown discusses the area’s significance and legacy — for jazz, music at large and the community.
“It was coined the little Harlem of Akron. If you imagine what Harlem was in that time, it was an epicenter for culture. And it was a gathering place. ... It’s not just Black people, but it was also a safe space for whites, LGBTQ+ people and Blacks to integrate.
Jimmy Noel was actually offered to go on the road with Count Basie, because Count Basie heard him play, and he declined because he had a family. ... He came out and played with us, and just to hear his stories, hear him play, that was enough. That concert fueled me. ... It’ll not only help me but all my friends and the kids that I’m teaching later on. Because to have that information, makes institutions stronger. ... When things are built on history, and we’re aware of it, then more people will be attracted to it.
It gives that sense of pride. It fills a void ... knowing that I’m a part of a legacy. ... [It] makes me want to pass along to the next generation in a more fruitful way.
Music can be healing. Ultimately, I think it brings people together to share space and to have an outlet to creatively say what you want to say.
Those folks starting their own groups or bands, or curating events themselves — that’s what keeps the scene going. ...I look at that as a continuation of the spirit that was already here.
— as told to Cameron Gorman
Summit Memory/ Akron-Summit County Public Library
