GUSTAV'S NEXT GIG: Stan Hwyet Museum

Stan Hywet Hall, Akron, Ohio

Paid a visit to site of Gustav's next gig this weekend. No, not Yale's Harkness Tower—though this venue in Akron, OH was built just a year or two before the old quad, in 1912-1915. Stone castings of heraldic lionesses and carved motto 'Non Nobis Solum' (Not for Us Alone) were just the amuse bouche of our private tour through Stan Hywet, former home of the Seiberling family (founders of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.). The house takes its name from the abandoned quarry on the property, which landscape architect Warren Manning flooded to create picturesque lagoons. The music room—where "Finer Things: Jewelry & Accessories from the 1880s-1930s" will soon open to the public—was outfitted with an Aeolian player organ, built for an age when horse drawn buggies outnumbered automobiles. Walking through folded-linen wood paneled hallways and bedrooms with lead pane windows and inglenooks, it was easy to forget that this was the spot where rubber really hit the road (with apologies to Firestone—also founded and originally based in Akron). 

To hear an Aeolian played, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7gjby5_7Us

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