Visit us at the Hower House Museum
Tours
Events
Saturday February 28th
L-O-V-E by Sara Showman
Doors Open and Light Refreshments at 1:30PM
Show Starts at 2:00PM
Free for Current HHM Members / $10 for Non-Members
L-O-V-E -- Join actor/storyteller Sara Showman of the Largely Literary Theater Company and learn the story behind the day set aside for love! L-O-V-E is a celebration of all things Valentine's Day. From its early pagan beginnings in ancient Rome to becoming the third-most celebrated holiday in the world, Valentine's Day is rich with history and customs. Showman weaves together the story of this popular holiday, the story of St. Valentine and three stories that reflect the many facets of this wonderful thing we call love!
RSVP's close on 2/21/26
To make an RSVP and purchase tickets please call the Hower House Museum 330.972.6909 or Email Dawn at dmm47@uakron.edu Please feel free to leave a message a we will return your call. (Reservations are required for this event.)
Doors open at 1:30PM and the performance will start at 2:00 PM.
Limited seating, light refreshments served; free onsite parking for guests.
FREE for HHM Guild members with current membership; $10 Non-Members (This event is open to the public.)
Monday March 2nd @ 6:30PM
Museum Musings Book Club Presents Jonathan Walter
Free for Current HHM Members / $8 for Non-Members/
$2 for Students
When the Redeemer learns about an ancient medallion that will allow her to go back in time to prevent her teenage daughter's suicide, she and her band of seventeenth-century Iroquois warriors embark on a mission to recover it. The only problem, however, is Aaron Porter, a shy fourteen-year-old with a garbage-picking hobby, who has discovered the medallion first. And he has his own plans for it. Now, hot on the trail of Aaron and his friends, the Redeemer won't hesitate to recover what's rightfully hers. How far would you go to prevent the death of someone you love, and when? The Redeemer knows, and that's why she'll travel across centuries, removing anyone who stands in her way. - Amazon
RSVP's are encouraged but not required.
Call the Hower House Museum to make your reservations: 330.972.6909 Please feel free to leave a message and we will return your call. You may also email your RSVP to Dawn Wiltheiss at dmm47@uakron.edu. (Reservations are encouraged but not required.) Free for HHM Guild members with current membership; $8 special price for our HHM guests! $2 for Students with proper ID (If you decide to join the HHM Guild this evening, you will not have to pay the door charge.)
Limited seating, light refreshments served; free onsite parking for guests.
Monday April 6th @ 6:30PM
Museum Musings Book Club Presents Ken Weiss
Free for Current HHM Members / $8 for Non-Members/
$2 for Students
Weiss' book uncovers the forgotten stories of a city through the lens of early 20th-century postcards, capturing people, places, and lost landmarks.
In the early 1900s, nearly a million postcards were sent from Akron and the surrounding areas to recipients across the world. Hidden in these postcards are the stories of people and places that have been lost to time. Buildings have been abandoned. Families have faded away. Even the landmarks, amusement parks, hotels, bridges, and stadiums that were expected to last forever have disappeared.
The stories of these places and people go beyond the expected. Akron always amazes with the odd, imaginative, and engaging. The stories here are about unique personalities, diverse backgrounds, businesses founded, and loves lost.
The names are legendary: Benjamin Goodrich, Harvey Firestone, John Brown, Judith Resnik and more. This is, after all, the city that gave birth to Lebron James, The Black Keys, and Devo. The unknown names, however, are equally intriguing.
This is Akron.
This inspiring book uses the art and perspective of postcards, the senders, and the recipients. Just a few words say so much about their circumstances, accomplishments, families, and obstacles. In every case, you’ll get a glimpse of both then and now. - Amazon
RSVP's are encouraged but not required.
Call the Hower House Museum to make your reservations: 330.972.6909 Please feel free to leave a message and we will return your call. You may also email your RSVP to Dawn Wiltheiss at dmm47@uakron.edu. (Reservations are encouraged but not required.) Free for HHM Guild members with current membership; $8 special price for our HHM guests! $2 for Students with proper ID (If you decide to join the HHM Guild this evening, you will not have to pay the door charge.)
Limited seating, light refreshments served; free onsite parking for guests.
Monday May 4th @ 6:30PM
Museum Musings Book Club Presents Carolyn Behrman &
Tim Matney
Free for Current HHM Members / $8 for Non-Members/
$2 for Students
What Remains presents a grassy field with a complicated and fraught history. What is now a suburban park where people play soccer and flag football in the City of Akron, Ohio, was once a Progressive-era county infirmary’s burial ground for people who were poor, infirm, troubled, immigrant, injured, alcoholic, elderly, or otherwise deemed “unemployable” during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Through community-engaged scholarship, this book uses legal, historical, archaeological, and anthropological lenses to consider what is above and below the grass. What Remains is about memories and stories; how at times we collectively remember, forget, or even invent new pasts through the process of tracing and uncovering our own histories. It is about what is worth remembering, what is better left forgotten, and who gets to decide. - UA Press
RSVP's are encouraged but not required.
Call the Hower House Museum to make your reservations: 330.972.6909 Please feel free to leave a message and we will return your call. You may also email your RSVP to Dawn Wiltheiss at dmm47@uakron.edu. (Reservations are encouraged but not required.) Free for HHM Guild members with current membership; $8 special price for our HHM guests! $2 for Students with proper ID (If you decide to join the HHM Guild this evening, you will not have to pay the door charge.)
Limited seating, light refreshments served; free onsite parking for guests.
HHMMM...
Hower House Museum Member Meet-ups
(Formerly Gadabouts)
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The Gadabout Program was founded by our beloved member, Richard Hudkins, to create opportunities that allow for the members of the Hower House Museum Guild to socialize while learning something new, eating, and having fun!
(Each event will offer education, food, and fun!)
***Unless otherwise noted, these events are open to all current members and invited guests of the Hower House Museum Guild.
Preregistration is encouraged, but not required.
(330) 972.6909 or email dmm47@uakron.edu
***The prices listed here are subject to change and based on the maximum amount estimated for the cost of participating. No other charged or fees should apply. Participants are expected to pay these charges as they arise.
In other words, there is no cost to join us, but you will need to pay your own admission and buy your own food, when applicable.
Spring Exhibit
2026
Architecturally Speaking: Lasting influence of Jacob Snyder
Reintroduced and Refreshed
with additional research!
The development of new materials, technologies, and social needs during the rapid industrialization of the nineteenth century significantly impacted architectural design. Where American industry favored standardized, functional architecture to promote efficient work, wealthy industrial profiteers wanted homes and public spaces that secured and reflected their social status.
Jacob Snyder was one of many influential architects and builders to navigate this period of unprecedented expansion and leave a lasting impact, though his name is less known. He co-created the “Akron Plan” for Sunday Schools and applied it to many of his commissions. Snyder’s design work reached prominence in the late nineteenth century and was developed through a lifetime of passion, education, and collaboration with local partners.
Explore the lasting impacts of Jacob Snyder’s life and works as we discuss the architect responsible for the Hower House Museum’s innovative and deliberate design.
A special thank you to the researchers who helped make this exhibit possible: The Hower House Museum Staff, John Miller, Richard Haldi, Mina Philpott, Jon Schmitz, Ashley Ritcher, Jason Rodkey, and the residents of Shady Bend and the District 8 Schoolhouse.
Holiday 2026
Opens to the Public on Thursday November 5th!
Tour days/times:
Thursdays - Saturdays - 12 noon until 3 p.m. (last tour at 2 p.m.)
Holiday Sundays - 1 p.m. Until 4 p.m. (last tour at 3 p.m.)
Admission charged
Now Scheduling Group Tours for the 2026 Season!
*Discounted Rates may be available for scheduled group tours.
Please contact Dawn for more information at 330.972.6909 or dmm47@uakron.edu
Cellar Door Boutique - unique gift shop open during tour times
Free onsite parking for tours/events
Location: 60 Fir Hill, Akron Ohio 44304
On the campus of The University of Akron
330.972.6909