AKRON, Ohio – The historic Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens opened for the season on Thursday on the heels of a six-year, $6 million project to restore parts of the estate to how it looked a century ago.
Stan Hywet is the former home of Gertrude and F.A. Seiberling, the co-founder of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The property at 714 North Portage Path is a National Historic Landmark and open to the public.
Stan Hywet will be open for self-guided tours Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the last admission at 4:30 p.m. It’s also open on Memorial Day and Labor Day. Tickets are $15 for adults and $6 for children ages 6 to 17.
Due to the coronavirus, all tours are currently self-guided. Stan Hywet expects guided tours of the Manor House to return in June, depending on state and local health guidance. Masks are required.
This season’s theme is “Restoration: If This Hall Could Talk,” and spotlights the work done since 2015 as part of the “2nd Century Campaign” to restore 16 rooms of the Tudor Revival manor house and other parts of the property, including the stone wall perimeter, the Tea Houses, lagoons and leaded glass windows.
A new offering this year is the Outdoor History Tour, a guided walk around the gardens and grounds. The tour teaches about the domestic staff who lived at and ran Stan Hywet, the builders, the service buildings and the Seiberling farms. It is touted as a companion to the Nooks & Crannies Tour that is expected to return in June.
Stan Hywet is also planning a performing arts series to bring theater, dance, music, film and visual arts to the grounds. The events have not been finalized, but Stan Hywet expects to partner with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Ballet, Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Nightlight Cinemas and the Stan Hywet Goodyear Concert Band, as well as photographer Ian Adams and plein air painter Jessica Henry Gray.
Other public programs this year include Founders’ Day Weekend on June 11 to 13, the Father’s Day Car Show on June 20, “Off the Vine: An Evening Pairing of Food & Wine” on July 23, Molto Bella Auto Show on Sept. 12, Ohio Mart on Oct. 7 to 10, Murder in the Mansion on Oct. 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29, and Deck the Hall on select nights from Nov. 26 to Dec. 30.