Weathervane Community Playhouse was founded in 1935 by Grace Hower Crawford, Laurine Schwan, Helen Troesch, and Muriel MacLachlan. The Playhouse's first location was Senator Dick's old carriage house located at 31 Marshall Avenue. The structure, pictured above, served as Weathervane Playhouse's venue (except for the 1948-1949 season) until 1951, when the Playhouse moved to 1474 Copley Road. Since the beginning, the Playhouse's main objective has been "the production of plays for the people of Akron by the people of Akron (Hall, 4)."

This project focuses on the relationship between Weathervane Community Playhouse and the Akron community from Weathervane’s beginnings in 1935 to roughly 1955. Community is a broad topic and involves many aspects. In a 1939 newsletter the Weathervane Players write, "we feel we are becoming increasingly important as a community project, bringing you fine plays, carefully produced, for the enjoyment of the layman, and in addition training Akronites from all walks of life in stagecraft."

But what culture or community did the Weathervane Community Playhouse create and foster in the early years? Our team looked at the community through the lens of the Playhouse's activities during WWII, as well as by examining Playhouse newsletters and membership lists, which showed their reach into the community.