The hill above downtown
West Hill sits southeast of Highland Square and southwest of Cascade Valley, looking down on downtown Akron. About 2,400 people live here. The city made it a separate neighborhood in its 2017 map, and Signal Akron notes that people know it for its historic homes and cemeteries.
Its landmarks are old ones. Glendale Cemetery, where Akron’s first settlers and earliest prominent families are buried, includes a Civil War Memorial Chapel and is on the National Register. Next to it, the Glendale Steps were built during the Great Depression as a public works project to carry residents down the 200-foot slope toward downtown and a park that was never built. The steps are listed too, and are due for repairs.
Hall Park Allotment and the older streets
The Hall Park Allotment Historic District runs roughly along Oakdale Avenue between Crestwood Avenue and Crosby Street. The National Park Service record lists it as significant for architecture, with Late 19th and 20th Century Revival styles and early American Movements styles, and a period of significance from 1875 to 1924. Architects named in the record include Harpster and Bliss.
For an owner, the listing is mostly a point of pride and a selling point. The National Park Service says National Register status alone doesn’t stop a private owner from renovating or selling, as long as no federal funding or permit is involved.
Porches, the Innerbelt and empty houses
People who live here talk first about porch culture. One resident said her porch “is an extension of our living room,” and another said he goes outside more because his neighbors do. House Three Thirty, the LeBron James Family Foundation’s event center, draws people from across Akron, and the West Hill Neighborhood Organization runs events like Wonderfest.
The neighborhood’s problems are just as specific:
- The abandoned section of the Akron Innerbelt, built in the 1970s, cuts West Hill off from downtown. It displaced many families of color and Black-owned businesses, and the city has since apologized.
- One resident of 20 years said some homes on her street have been vacant the entire time and have been allowed to deteriorate.
- Residents mentioned homelessness in nearby parks and drug use spilling into the neighborhood.
Selling an old West Hill house
A restored house on a well-kept block in or near the historic district is the kind of property that sells on its character, and an agent may get you more for it. Ask us anyway and we’ll compare honestly.
The houses that suit a direct sale here are often the opposite: a large old house that has been empty, has city orders against it, or needs a roof, wiring and plumbing all at once. Before you decide, read selling a vacant house and our guide to an Akron demolition order if the city has started that process. For a house with lead paint, see the lead paint disclosure guide.