Everywhere is Somewhere to See

The National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the Air Force’s official museum and the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum. Its galleries hold more than 350 aerospace vehicles and missiles displayed across more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space, along with thousands of artifacts, photographs and documents that trace the history of military flight from the earliest days of aviation to the modern era.

The collection includes many of the museum’s best-known aircraft, among them the B-17 Memphis Belle, the B-29 Bockscar, the only remaining XB-70 Valkyrie, and the world’s only permanent public display of a B-2 stealth bomber. Other galleries focus on World War I, World War II, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Cold War, presidential aircraft, research and development, global airlift and space.

The museum traces its origins to 1923 at McCook Field near Dayton and moved to Wright Field in 1927. Its present-day complex grew over decades, with major additions opening in 1971, 1976, 1988, 2003, 2004 and 2016. Today, it remains one of Ohio’s best-known museums and one of the country’s most significant aviation history sites.

Benjamin O. Greene and Salmon Hoisington built this house circa 1830. The Perkins family, a well-known local family, rented it from 1835 to 1837 as their Stone House (now known as the Perkins Stone Mansion) was being built. Colonel Simon Perkins purchased the house, which was originally a two-room structure, in early 1844 and then rented it to abolitionist John Brown and his family. Brown, recovering from bankruptcy in 1844, entered into a wool partnership with Perkins. Brown lived in the house on and off from 1844 until 1854. The house was expanded over the years, and the Portage Golf Club, a Portage Country Club predecessor, operated in the house for more than two decades, starting in 1884.

The Akron Civic Theatre, originally opened as the Loew’s Theatre, is one of downtown Akron’s most celebrated landmarks and a rare surviving example of a 1920s atmospheric movie palace. Designed by renowned architect John Eberson, the theatre immerses audiences in a whimsical Mediterranean courtyard setting, complete with twinkling stars and drifting clouds projected across the domed ceiling. Seating more than 3,000 guests, the Civic is the only remaining theater of the 11 originally built by entertainment pioneer Marcus Loew, founder of the Loew’s theater chain.

Located along the historic Ohio & Erie Canal, Lock 2 is one of roughly 20 locks that once lifted and lowered canal boats through the center of Akron. The lock played a vital role in the 19th-century canal system that linked Akron to Lake Erie in Cleveland and later to the Ohio River near Portsmouth, creating important trade routes that helped the region rapidly grow. Today, Lock 2 is easily accessible along the scenic Towpath Trail, positioned between Akron Children’s Hospital and Canal Park Stadium.

Battelle Riverfront Park is a 4.1-acre park near Columbus City Hall in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The park was established in 1983. It is named after Gordon Battelle and was funded by the Battelle Memorial Institute.