Summit Lake Prototyping

In the early 20th century, Summit Lake was a thriving community, known for its bustling amusement park, dance hall, and beach destination. However, with the rise of tire manufacturing during the automobile boom, the lake became polluted by industrial waste runoff and was quickly abandoned. Decades later, the City of Akron and Summit Metroparks, as a part of the national “Reimagining Civic Commons” initiative, have begun the process of restoring Summit Lake to its former glory, supplying a once-forgotten community with a beautiful lake park. Fishing, boating, picnicking, and gathering are once again possible in this re-imagined and revitalized community.

The goal of the project was to establish quick decisions to form a prototype program that could be applied to future projects. With quick decisions comes the need for added support, and as this was a community project, budget concerns weighed heavily. Hundreds of plants were donated by an avid gardener from the community, and wood chips were donated by a local tree removal company. Meeting the communities’ desires while staying under budget was critical for the project to be a long-term success.