Werner Company Building
Why it's listed
Built in 1895 at 109 North Union in Akron, this three-story brick building housed the administration offices of the Werner Company, a printing and publishing firm. Its design draws on German medieval models, with steep gabled roofs, large stepped gables at five places, bands of sandstone running through the brickwork, and a square corner tower set at an angle, topped with turrets. Inside, an entrance hall is ringed by an arcade of round and elliptical arches on fluted columns, with a wide staircase lit by a skylight. Paul E. Werner, born in Germany in 1850, built the business from newspapers and printing into a large book factory that claimed by 1900 to be the largest and most complete in the country. The firm issued an unauthorized edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, faced legal battles and heavy losses, and failed in 1909. The building is valued as an unusually elaborate commercial design and as a reminder of that enterprise.
Significance in brief: The building served as the administration headquarters of a publishing firm that claimed in 1900 to be the largest and most complete book factory in the United States. It is considered an excellent and unusually elaborate example of eclectic architecture in the German idiom for a publishing house of its date and place. It is also tied to Paul E. Werner, a German immigrant publisher.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 76001533, listed December 12, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 109 N. Union, Akron |
|---|---|
| County | Summit County |
| Listed | December 12, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76001533 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1895-1909 |
| Architectural style | Eclectic German medieval |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as vacant and unoccupied at the time of nomination; condition marked good, with minor alterations noted. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.08412, -81.50557 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 76001533.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7983368
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.