Lounge Facts

You wouldn’t expect the plain exterior of Akron’s Greystone Hall to house an elegant space such as the Barrister’s Lounge, but step through the French double doors and you’ll be amazed at what you find.

A pristine 20-foot wooden bar, brick fireplace and plush armchairs decorate the cherry-colored parlor, which hasn’t been used much for the past 10 years. In June, the 82-year-old building’s lounge was put in the hands of the Akron Summit Conventions & Visitors Bureau, which opened the space to the public.

“We wanted to be able to share the building with more of the people downtown, like us, who had no idea how wonderful it was inside,” says Susan Hamo, president of Akron Summit Conventions & Visitors Bureau. “And the only way we could really do that on a consistent basis would be to open up one part of the building regularly to the public.”

1. The lounge has existed since the Freemasons built Greystone Hall in 1917, but the current managers know little about the building’s history. “By virtue of their organization, everything was very secret,” Hamo says of the Freemasons. Still, Latin phrases and symbols painted on the walls by members of the secret society are visible reminders of the property’s past. “It is our hope to, in the future, do tours of the building that will be guided by a mason who would be able to give us a little more insight into the actual building and what went on.”
   
2. The lounge sits directly above a route once used to reach the Ohio & Erie Canal. “There were tunnels that were on Broadway that went down to the railroad tracks to North Howard Street,” says Roy C. Baine, former marketing director for Quaker Square, which is located across the street from Greystone Hall. Though sealed off now, the tunnels beneath Greystone Hall still exist.
   
3. Investor Jeffrey O’Neil purchased Greystone in 1999 and spent $5 million on renovations, including heating systems, updated restrooms and other necessities to create a functional place to hold private events. When the city of Akron took possession of the property, other improvements were also made. “Much of the furniture was gone, so we did redecorate … not touching any of the original paintings,” Hamo says.
   
4. The furniture that does remain includes lounge décor such as bar stools ornately accented with gold-painted lions heads on the arms, as well as the Freemasons’ original billiards balls, which are displayed on the fireplace mantel to remind guests of the original tenants.