Grand Opening: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
The airship “Spirit of Goodyear” flies over the ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally open The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s new global headquarters in Akron, Ohio. The décor of the new campus features patent numbers lining the walls of the innovation center as well as photos of different places the Goodyear blimp has been.
Grand Opening: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Richard Kramer (center), chairman and CEO of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, cuts the ceremonial ribbon to formally open the tiremaker’s new global headquarters in Akron, Ohio, on May 9, 2013. With Kramer are (from left) Laura Thompson, vice president of finance at Goodyear North America; Stu Lichter, of Industrial Realty Group; Russ Pry, a Summit County, Ohio, executive; Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic; Mary Taylor, Lt. Governor of Ohio; Chris Burnham, president of Development Finance Authority; Lisa Winkelmann Speltz, director of Net Lease Asset Management; and Paul Sandstrom, a Goodyear polymer chemist.
Grand Opening: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Goodyear Chairman and CEO Richard Kramer said the company's new seven-story, 639,000-sq.-ft., sustainably-designed, glass-and-steel structure represents Goodyear's "commitment to Akron and northeast Ohio…not just to the Akron of old, but to a revitalized, and progressive Akron that continues to evolve and prosper in groundbreaking ways."
Grand Opening
The new building, valued at $110 million, is designed to obtain a LEED Silver rating, with much open space and windows for natural light. To maintain a green environment, building materials included wood from old-growth logs reclaimed from Ohio rivers.
Grand Opening
The new campus is significantly smaller than the former one, with the new global headquarters building, innovation center, parking deck and parking lots all sitting on 216.3 acres and measuring 1.5 million sq. ft., while the former campus is on 480 acres and comprised 5.17 million sq. ft.
Atrium
The atrium of Goodyear's new headquarters in Akron features lots of natural light and open spaces, which is required to earn LEED Silver certification.
Lobby
The lobby wall features a microscopic photograph of sulfur, an important element in tires.
Santa Claus Express, 1927
Santa Claus, standing in front of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's first public relations blimp "Pilgrim" in 1927 as part of the company's "Santa Claus Express" event.
Blimpcast, 1940
In 1940, equipped with a record player, microphone and attached loudspeaker, the Goodyear blimp's Reliance and Ranger would "blimpcast" recordings and live greetings to the public below.
