Inventory of the James A. Pahlau Collection, 1842-2003

Biography of James A. Pahlau

James Arden Pahlau was born in Massillon, Ohio on January 1, 1930 (notable for being the first baby born in Massillon in that decade). "Jim" as he was less formally known, was the son of John William Pahlau (1900-1956), a metallurgical worker, and Hazel Althea Wenbling (1906-1955), a seamstress. Jim Pahlau had one sibling, Richard W. Pahlau (1926-1951), who died of polio at the age of 24.

Jim Pahlau was considered a "walking encyclopedia" of Akron architectural history. According to John Miller, former Director of Archival Services at The University of Akron, he is "widely recognized as an expert on local history and is thought of as the expert on the architectural history of Akron and environs." Pahlau's attentions turned toward architecture while he was in junior high school. He was particularly influenced by what is now Massillon's historic district along Fourth Street, which he passed every day on his way home from school or the library. It is said that architectural history became his "magnificent obsession" and he became fascinated with the work of Massillon and Cleveland architect Herman J. Albrecht, and later, Roy G. Firestone (no relation to the Firestone Tire family). According to Pahlau, "architecture really is the most tangible record of our history, other than the written word."

Pahlau attended Massillon public schools and excelled in academics winning numerous awards and distinctions, including valedictorian of Washington High School, from where he graduated in 1948. Having a 4.0 grade point average for all twelve years of his education, he received offers of scholarships from 17 colleges, including the University of Pennsylvania, Kent State University, and other Ohio schools, but turned them down. After high school, he completed a one-year program at the New York School of Interior Decoration in New York City in 1949. It was during this time that he attended Broadway shows and musicals and acquired his affinity for his second love, the theater.

Finding it hard to afford room and board in New York, Pahlau returned to Northeast Ohio and enrolled at the Kent State University Extension Campus in Canton (now Kent State University Stark Campus) taking classes in English and art history. He completed two quarters, but never graduated, which led him to consider himself self-taught. At this point, he worked in interior design in Massillon on the design staffs of Spuhler's, Inc. from 1949 to 1953 and Coen Furniture, Ltd. from 1969-1977. However, he considered his career highlight to be the years he spent at the Republic Steel Corporation's Enduro Division Massillon plant as an inventory clerk from 1956 through 1963. Pahlau then spent his time working at the Massillon Museum, mostly on a volunteer basis, until 1967. From 1972 to 1979, Pahlau lived and worked at Massillon's Spring Hill Historic Home, an 1820s house and farm that became a museum in 1973.

Pahlau used his earnings from his jobs to attend concerts and musicals and support his book collecting activities. During his lifetime, he attended numerous plays and musicals locally and took in multiple performances during extended weekend jaunts to New York City. In fact, he was fired from his job at Republic Steel because he consistently was late getting back on Monday mornings, but this did not bother him because he was doing what he enjoyed. From 1949 until 1978, it is said that he attended over 1,800 concerts and theater productions. His interest, in his words, was in classical concerts and theater "with a special interest in operetta and musical comedy." Over the years, Pahlau came to meet many of the great and talented performers of the day, including Florence Henderson, Beverly Sills, Gordon McRae, John Raitt, Kathryn Grayson, and Ethel Merman. According to Akron Beacon Journal Columnist Bill Lilley, Pahlau "enjoyed hobnobbing with some of Broadway's biggest stars, and several of them were considered his friends." "He would become so friendly with those people that he would spend the weekend at their place in the city," according to Pahlau's classmate Bill Oliver. "It was unbelievable! But that was just Jim."

In 1979, Pahlau moved to Akron and lived at the Summit County Historical Society's Perkins Stone Mansion, working there part-time as caretaker and maintenance man for seven years. From 1979 until 1981, he also worked part-time as a staff member at the Akron Art Institute (now the Akron Art Museum). In 1981, Pahlau began working part-time at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, the 65-room Tudor revival mansion and 70-acre historic estate of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company co-founder F.A. Seiberling and his wife, Gertrude Penfield. Throughout his years at Stan Hywet, Pahlua worked odd jobs such as assisting the curator, overseeing special events, cleaning parts of the Manor House, and running errands. He enjoyed this work because, in his words, "it gets me out and around. I take various routes to look at buildings. It's how I stay aware of what's happening on the building scene." In addition, Pahlau liked volunteering at these institutions because as he said, "If I demanded to be paid for everything, then they wouldn't have it done and I wouldn't get to do it." According to his long-time friend Bernie Gnap, "a job was secondary to his passions for architecture and music. He never was very concerned with money." "He focused on things he loved, not on material things," said Bill Oliver.

Pahlau eventually became a prominent Akron-area lecturer and tour guide who volunteered his time to present on a multitude of local architectural topics throughout the area. From 1987 to 1993, he worked at The University of Akron as a lecturer and taught non-credit Continuing Education classes regarding local architecture, particularly a course titled "Public Architecture in Akron, 1835-1935," and "Residential Architecture in Akron, 1835-1935." He also served as principal instructor of an Elderhostel course titled "The Houses That Rubber Built" from 1993-1995. In addition, Pahlau lectured extensively throughout the community and taught an ongoing slide presentation on aspects of Akron architecture for various civic, senior, garden, church, and lodge groups. He is known for organizing and leading numerous architecture tours throughout the region, including "A Walk Down Main Street" and "The Country House Revisited," and writing descriptions of 156 residences for various Akron house tours. He also wrote extensively on local and regional architecture and got 11 Akron sites placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Jim Pahlau curated various exhibitions at local museums, libraries, historical societies, and cultural sites. Some of his most notable include "Elements and Styles of Interior Decoration" at the Massillon Museum in 1967, "Residential Architecture in Akron" for the Summit County Historical Society in 1978 and the Akron-Summit County Public Library in 1980, and an exhibit on domestic interiors for Stan Hywet in 1985. He also assisted with numerous publications including a monograph on the work of architect Herman J. Albrecht for the Massillon Museum and Great American Houses and Their Architectural Styles by Virginia McAlester (New York: Abbeville Press, 1994). Furthermore, Pahlau provided research information and photographs for The Architect and the American Country House by Mark Alan Hewitt and The American Country House by Clive Aslet, both by the Yale University Press.

In order to educate himself about local architecture and gather information for his lectures, tours, writings, and exhibitions, Pahlau meticulously studied houses and buildings up close and personal, especially the mansions in West Akron on Portage Path and Merriman Road. This looked suspicious in residential areas and often caused run-ins with the authorities. However, local police and Akron residents eventually got accustomed to his dilapidated black 1977 Oldsmobile appearing in their driveways or milling about their neighborhoods. He also became known for knocking on peoples' doors and talking his way into their homes, sometimes making friends with the home owners over the years.

Jim Pahlau is perhaps most notable for his work with the local architectural preservation group, Progress Through Preservation (PTP). The group was organized in 1984 to actively promote and encourage the preservation, maintenance, restoration, and adaptive re-use of buildings, sites and neighborhoods that are of historical or architectural importance in Akron and Summit County. Pahlau served as a trustee and historian for PTP from 1986 until his death in 2007. He often wrote well-researched articles for the organization's newsletter on some aspect of local architecture or an architect or firm that helped shape Akron's built environment. Pahlau also was a long-time member of the American Society of Architectural Historians and the Northern Ohio Bibliophilic Society.

Jim Pahlau always lived frugally, mostly in subsidized housing, or traded services such as mowing lawn, running errands, and cleaning for rent. It is said that he never made much money and sometimes barely got by. A devoted bibliophile, he spent most of his meager earnings on his collection, which led some to criticize his lifestyle and spending habits, especially after an article by newspaper columnist Carol Biliczky appeared about him and his collection in Akron Beacon Journal when he donated it to The University of Akron Archival Services in 1995. It is said that Pahlau never owned a television or a phone, but spent his time reading and studying architecture and amassing books, periodicals, pamphlets, and ephemera on the subject. At one time, he said that his library consisted of over 1,000 books and 1,000 records. As someone once wrote, "the collection is Pahlau's material estate." Pahlau once said of himself "I don't drink, I don't smoke, this [collecting books and materials on local architecture] is what I do."

Pahlau has been described as "slight in build; he wears a short white beard and horn-rim glasses that ride down on his nose; his shirt says 'Stan Hywet' over the pocket and a bundle of keys hangs from his belt loop. When he talks about buildings, he becomes animated, voluble, excited; he overflows with information." University of Akron English Professor and acclaimed author David Gifffels described him as "a strange little man . . . the rare self-educated historian whom formal scholars respect as one of their own." But, "Jim was a real blessing to Akron and Akron's history. He enriched everybody's life that he came in contact with," said Bill Oliver. Akron Beacon Journal columnist Margot Jackson once said of him: "Jim Pahlau has been a leader in many [architectural] walks, a helper in many histories, a catalyst, an educator as well as an admirer. His contributions are unique and deserve honor." And honored he was, for in 1992, the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums recognized him with their Individual Achievement Award. Fifteen years later, on September 22, 2007, he passed away in Akron from complications of diabetes at the age of 77. He had no children and was never married.

[1] Information for this biographical sketch was taken from numerous sources, including Hollace Silbiger, "He's a walking, talking expert on Akron architecture," Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 12, 1992; Margot Jackson, "Jim Pahlau: A local historian's unique contribution," Akron Beacon Journal, June 26, 1987; Bill Lilley, "Architecture expert Jim Pahlau dies at 77," Akron Beacon Journal, September 25, 2007; Carol Biliczky, "Scholar offers priceless gift," Akron Beacon Journal, March 1995; David Giffels, "An eye for detail, Jim Pahlau's lifelong love affair with all things Akron," Sunday Beacon Magazine, February 13, 2000.

Scope and Content

The James A. Pahlau Collection is notable for its information on local architecture (houses, residences, schools, churches, memorials, cemeteries, landmarks, and public buildings) in publications, photographs, postcards, and notes collected and written by James A. Pahlau. There are also architectural drawings depicting Akron and Massillon buildings, mostly by Roy G. Firestone, Warren H. Manning, Harold S. Cassidy, John F. Suppes, Albrecht and Wilhelm, and Good and Wagner, including some that were never built. Of particular use to researchers of local architectural history are Pahlau's submissions of Akron homes and buildings to the National Register of Historic Places, his writings about local buildings and residences, and his extensive files on Ohio architects and architectural firms, mostly notably Howard Van Doren Shaw, Charles S. Schneider, Herman J. Albrecht, and the Eldridge, Dunn, and Heard families. Pahlau's notes, slides, and illustrations for his exhibits, lectures, and tours of local architecture may also be of interest.

While the majority of the materials on architecture document Akron and Summit County, Ohio, including the historic neighborhoods of Highland Square, Goodyear Heights, Firestone Park, West Akron, and Fairlawn Heights, the collection covers a broader region. This mostly includes Northeastern Ohio (particularly Barberton, Canton, Cleveland, Hudson, Peninsula, and Shaker Heights) in addition to information on other Ohio cities including Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, and Zoar, to name a few. The collection also consists of a largely complete set of Progress Through Preservation newsletters and an array of information regarding Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens. The Stan Hywet materials include photographs, annual reports, and programs. In addition to Stan Hywet, the collection documents other local buildings and residences of prominence including the A. Polsky Company, M. O'Neill Company, C.W. Seiberling Residence, Perkins Stone Mansion, Harbel Manor, and Hower House.

The Pahlau collection also documents to some extent local cultural history. Theater production and souvenir programs make up one of the largest series in the collection, many from local Northeast Ohio groups and organizations. This includes The University of Akron, the Tuesday Musical Association, Kenley Players, and Musicarnival, to name a few. The collection also contains limited information on Pahlau's other interests, which include local art, period costume, and interior design.

Another substantial portion of the collection is comprised of published materials such as books, periodicals, and vinyl phonograph records, some of which are rare or include signed and inscribed copies. The books and periodicals document local (mostly Akron and Summit County) and regional history and architecture. Some of the vinyl records include performances by local musicians and musical groups as well as recordings produced or published by local entities. However, the majority of the LPs, in addition to several books, document plays and musicals, many of which are signed or inscribed by famous or well-known film and Broadway actors of the day. This includes Florence Henderson, John Raitt, and Ethel Merman, to name a few.

The books, periodicals, and vinyl records, which include nearly 700 titles, were physically separated from the archival materials, cataloged in The University of Akron Libraries Catalog, and shelved by Library of Congress call number with the Special Collections Books and Audio-Visual Materials in the Special Collections Stacks. Some of Pahlau's books that do not document local or regional history, or are not rare or valuable, were transferred from Archival Services to Bierce Library for the circulating collection to provide better access to these resources. While physically in different locations, the collection is intellectually linked in the catalog and can be accessed by searching for "James A. Pahlau Library" at http://library.uakron.edu/, or by viewing the following link:

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Restrictions on Access

No restrictions on access; except not available through interlibrary loan. Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Organizations/Corporations:

Places:

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], James A. Pahlau Collection, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.