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Akron Woman’s City Club marks centennial



The Akron Woman’s City Club, with its facility shown above, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Photo courtesy of the Akron Woman’s City Club

WEST AKRON — Thousands of area residents travel West Exchange Street every day, driving by an important part of Akron’s past, present and future as they pass the historic Grey Lodge at 732 W. Exchange St., which serves as the home of the Akron Woman’s City Club (AWCC). The club this year is celebrating 100 years of service to the community.
The AWCC was founded Feb. 8, 1923 when a small group of women met at the home of Helen Wolle, who became the first president. The club’s first official home was established at the Mason House, 115 S. Union St., in July 1923, and then moved to more expansive quarters on the third floor of the Pythian Temple at 34 S. High St. in June 1926. In 1939, the club was incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the official name Akron Woman’s City Club. As the AWCC continued to grow, the club purchased the Stadelman estate, known as Grey Lodge, at Portage Path and West Exchange Street for $30,000 in September 1945. The club spent an additional $200,000 on renovations, refurnishing and landscaping the property. Following a successful financial campaign and membership drive, the AWCC moved into the expansive three-story beige brick mansion June 3, 1946 and adopted the motto “The beauty of our house is order, the blessing of our house is contentment, the glory of our house is hospitality.”
In 1946, the club added a ballroom for club events at a cost of $60,000. The ballroom featured brocade draperies purchased from the estate of its first president, as well as Venetian crystal chandeliers and an antique French tapestry over the mantel. In addition, the estate’s carriage house was transformed into the Coach House Theater, which has become various theater companies and currently serves as the home of the None Too Fragile Theater.
In June 1952, the club held a mortgage-burning ceremony, with Warren Carter, president of the Akron Chamber of Commerce, presenting a scroll commemorating the event.
The 1960s brought a period of growth and expansion with the addition of the Florentine Dining Room and a porte cochere at the main entrance for protection from inclement weather. Other renovations that followed included an elevator, along with men’s and dining memberships and a liquor license in 2010.
History of Grey Lodge
Grey Lodge was built for $20,000 in 1901 by Bertram Work, who became president of the B. F. Goodrich Co. The house described as a three-story structure in the Italian Renaissance Revival style with a pressed-brick veneer and stone masonry, leaded-glass windows, ornate plasterwork, walnut paneling, marble walls and crystal chandeliers. The Work family hosted lavish parties for Akron’s high society, with help from coachmen, stable boys, cooks, waiters, maids, laundresses, gardeners and chauffeurs.
Grey Lodge was purchased in 1917 by George Stadelman, vice-president of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. and was briefly used by the Red Cross for World War I first-aid training before the Stadelman family moved into the residence in the fall of 1917. Unfortunately, tragedy befell the family after only a few years in the home.
Mary Beth Breckenridge, writing for the Akron Beacon Journal in 2001, described the tragedy: “It was in the winter of 1925-26 and Stadelman and his wife Gertrude were awakened by intruders. The robbers ordered him to open their safe and threatened to kill him when he fumbled. The Stadelmans managed to get the safe open and the intruders fled, but the experience shocked him so much that it affected his health. He died Jan. 22, 1926, at age 53.” His wife died in 1928.
The safe is used today as storage for the club’s archives. Keys are needed to open two heavy safe doors and an outer door disguised as another entrance.
After the couple’s two children married in 1932, the house remained vacant for a number of years. Local developers proposed converting the 40-room mansion into apartments, but the proposal was strongly opposed and never materialized. The Good Convalescent Home moved into the home in 1937 and operated there for almost a decade until the AWCC purchased the property in 1946 and restored it to its former glory.
Akron Woman’s
City Club Today
Today, AWCC seeks to enrich the lives of its members and the community through its mission “to maintain a historic estate which serves as a location for philanthropic, educational, cultural, civic and social activities for the enrichment of its members and community.”
AWCC President Suzanne Schreiber said she sees a bright future for the organization with a new generation of members. Mark DiFeo Catering now plans and runs all club events and the kitchen. None Too Fragile Theater remains and membership options and benefits have expanded.
“I can’t think of a more exciting time to be president of the Akron Woman’s City Club than during our centennial year,” said Schreiber.
For more information about the club, call 330-762-6261.