15 Best Things to Do in Canton, Ohio

Situated in northeast Ohio, Canton is a friendly city that is renowned for its Pro Football Hall of Fame, which honors National Football League players through a variety of outstanding permanent and traveling exhibitions. Canton, OH and the surrounding region boast a wealth of attractions and activities for the whole family. Top attractions include the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the domed William McKinley Tomb, and the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum. CDC information for travelers. Hours/availability may have changed.

15 Best Things to Do in Canton, Ohio

• The National First Ladies' Library, Canton, OH, Photo: Courtesy of Zack Frank - Fotolia.com
• Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio, Photo: Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Blue Water Majesty Museum, Canton, Ohio, Photo: Courtesy of Unclesam - Fotolia.com
• Amateur Sports Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio, Photo: Courtesy of nikkytok - Fotolia.com
• Canton Classic Car Museum, Canton, Ohio, Photo: Courtesy of Nikolai Sorokin - Fotolia.com
• Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio, Photo: Canton Museum of Art
• Harry London Candies, Canton, Ohio, Photo: Courtesy of Jiri Hera - Fotolia.com
• Historic Zoar Village, Canton, Ohio, Photo: Historic Zoar Village
• Jackson Bog State Nature Preserve, Canton, Ohio, Photo: Courtesy of Zack Frank - Fotolia.com
• Things to Do in Canton, Ohio: MAPS Air Museum, Photo: MAPS Air Museum
• McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, Canton, Ohio, Photo: Courtesy of Zack Frank - Fotolia.com
• The Canton Brewing Company, Canton, Ohio, Photo: The Canton Brewing Company
• Things to Do in Canton, Ohio: Canton Airsports, Photo: Courtesy of Fotolia.com
• Things to Do in Canton, Ohio: Canton Food Tours, Photo: Courtesy of mateusz - Fotolia.com
• Cover Photo: Courtesy of Jesse Kunerth - Fotolia.com

Attraction Spotlight: Canton Museum of Art

Located in Canton, Ohio, the Canton Museum of Art is a community arts organization dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts, offering a variety of public exhibits and educational event programming. The Canton Museum of Art emerged out of the city’s Little Civic Art Gallery, which was founded as a public gallery space on the second floor of the Canton Public Library in 1935.

History

Throughout the following decade, the gallery became a popular cultural destination within the city of Canton, and by 1941, the organization was in need of a larger facility to house its collections and accommodate visitors. After the gallery moved into its new facility later that year at the historic Frank E. Case Mansion, it was rebranded as the Canton Art Institute.

Following a grant acquired from the Timken Foundation in 1969, the city of Canton began construction on a new multi-organization arts facility called the Cultural Center for the Arts, which opened to the public the following year. After becoming part of the Center in 1971, the CAI implemented a variety of expanded public programming, including a humanities program for in-school programming, and partnered with a number of other area arts organizations, including the Players’ Guild Theatre and the Potter’s Guild. In 1989, as a result of reorganization within the museum’s board of trustees, the CAI’s mission with regard to its permanent collections was refocused, centering on 19th and 20th century American pottery works and works on paper. In 1995, the museum’s name was changed to the Canton Museum of Art.

Permanent Exhibits and Collections

Today, the Canton Museum of Art serves as one of Ohio’s premiere art museums, offering a variety of community-based programming meant to spread public awareness and appreciation of the fine arts, including gallery exhibits and public educational programming. The museum is a fully-accredited American Alliance of Museums facility and is supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council and Stark County’s ArtsInStark partnership. As a part of ArtsInStark’s 330,000-square-foot Cultural Center for the Arts building, which is architecturally connected to the city’s Civic Center, the CMA partners with a number of other regional arts organizations to present its annual programming, including the Canton HeART Guild, the Canton Artists League, and Canton Fine Arts Associates.

Since 1989, the museum’s permanent collections have focused on 19th and 20th century American watercolors, ceramics, and works on paper, which have been supplemented in recent years by sizeable donations from Cleveland School member August Biehle and Columbus, Ohio modernist artist Alice Schille. Works from permanent collections are showcased as part of temporary exhibitions, which are rotated several times throughout the year. Up to 15 exhibitions are showcased annually, including a main exhibition focusing on a central theme or artist’s body of work, along with two smaller exhibitions featuring the works of regional artists and a complementary themed permanent collection exhibition. Past exhibitions on display include Tom Bartel’s Dark Forms, Jack McWhorter’s Engraved Fields, and Elijah Pierce’s An American Journey, as well as the permanent collection showcase African American Masterpieces and Helmets: Evolution of the Game, an exhibit presented in conjunction with the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In addition to gallery exhibits, the CMA’s Artist Boutique offers a wide variety of curated products for purchase, including many artisan works by local Ohio artists, crafters, and manufacturers. Hundreds of handcrafted items are offered, including apparel, jewelry, ceramics, home goods, and gift items. Featured artists include Cleveland Street, Diann Adams Ceramics, Paper Acorn, Lost Lust Supply, the Little Chicago Clothing Company, and Sweet Bean Chocolates.

Ongoing Programs and Education

Gallery tours of the CMA are offered for small groups and organizations, including curriculum-incorporated tours for elementary and secondary school groups. Arts Experience workshops are also offered, adding on 45-minute art sessions after guided tour experiences. A Museum-to-Go program also brings art activities and virtual exhibits directly into the classroom, while online educator resources and an @CantonMuseum magazine are provided to direct community members to further arts education opportunities.

A wide variety of public programming is offered at the CMA, including Artists Studio courses for students of all ages and skill levels. Courses offered include drawing, jewelry, ceramics, printmaking, and photography courses, as well as an Art for Health and Healing series, a Pottery Badge program for scouting groups, and a My First Art Class for young artists and families. A Summer Art Camp offers hands-on art activities for youth, while Homeschool Day events provide periodic educational opportunities for homeschoolers. Other educational special events include CMA Uncorked painting events and STEM-focused Science and Art Play Dates. Annual public special events at the museum and the Cultural Center for the Arts includes a May Ceramic Show and Sale, a gARTen annual fundraiser, an Art After Dark Halloween costume party, a holiday Christkindl Markt, and an annual art exhibition of works by Stark County high school students.

1001 Market Ave N, Canton, OH, Phone: 330-453-7666

More Things to Do in Canton, OH

You are reading "15 Best Things to Do in Canton, Ohio " Back to Top

Attraction Spotlight: Pro Football Hall of Fame

Located in Canton, Ohio, the Pro Football Hall of Fame honors professional American football players with an annual induction ceremony, museum exhibits, and public special event programming related to the history of the sport. The National Football League, originally known as the American Professional Football Association, was founded in 1920 in Canton.

History

Following the organization’s success as a major American sporting association, the Canton community lobbied throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s to have the Association’s Hall of Fame facility constructed in its birthplace city. In 1962, ground was broken on a 19,000-square-foot museum facility, which featured two exhibit rooms at its opening later that year. Expansions to the facility were made in 1971 at a cost of $620,000, increasing the museum’s size to 34,000 square feet and adding a pro shop to the facility. Additional expansions were made in 1978, 1995, and 2013, bringing the museum’s total size up to 118,000 square feet by 2018. A future $800,000 expansion project, the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, is slated for 2020 to coincide with the centennial celebration for the National Football League.

Permanent Exhibits and Collections

Today, the Pro Football Hall of Fame serves as the official hall of fame and museum facility for the National Football League and professional American football, honoring notable players, coaches, franchise owners, and staff within the sport. Four to eight new inductees are welcomed into the Hall of Fame every year, with 318 notable figures having been inducted as of 2018. As a museum organization and honor hall, the Hall of Fame strives to honor the history and exceptional figures within American football and preserve the game’s legacy and values for future generations of American football fans.

Annual enshrinees are honored with a formal enshrinement ceremony, held during the first full weekend in August in conjunction with a weeklong celebration at the museum. Notable past inductees include Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, Pittsburgh Steelers halfback Jerome Bettis, Emmy Award-winning Monday Night Football anchor Frank Gifford, American Football League co-founder Lamar Hunt, Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, and San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice. Recent inductees include noted wide receivers Terrell Owens and Randy Moss. All inductees have made significant contributions to the National and American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, though several enshrinees also have ties to the Canadian Football League and the World Football League. The Chicago Bears are the Hall of Fame’s most-honored team, with a total of 34 enshrinees connected to the team.

Museum exhibits at the Hall of Fame focus on the lives and careers of past enshrinees, along with historical exhibits related to the development of professional American football. A Hall of Fame Gallery is presented, showcasing bronze busts of all past enshrinees. A holographic Game For Life theater offers multisensory experiences with holographic representations of past enshrinees, including Joe Namath and George Halas. The museum is also the home of the Black College Football Hall of Fame, which honors exemplary collegiate football players from historically African-American colleges throughout the United States.

The museum’s Ralph Wilson, Jr. Pro Football Research and Preservation Center archives more than 40 million historic documents related to the history of American football, along with six million photographic images and a repository of 30,000 additional artifacts not on display in exhibits. The Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium seats 23,000 spectators and hosts Malone University, Walsh University, and McKinley High School football games and Hall of Fame enshrinement week celebration events, as well as major national touring concerts and live performances. The planned centennial expansion Hall of Fame Village will include a National Youth Football and Sports Complex with eight state-of-the-art turf fields and a 345,000-square-foot Hall of Fame Hotel with a farm-to-table restaurant, retail space, and a conference and business center. Other planned expansions include a Hall of Fame Promenade, a Center for Excellence hosting a coaches’ university, a Player Care Center, a Hall of Fame Experience amusement park and waterpark, and a Performance Center with an indoor 100-yard football field and basketball arena.

Ongoing Programs and Education

A wide variety of youth and educational programming is presented by the Hall of Fame, including an award-winning field trip program that includes post-visit classroom activities and incorporates National Standards of Education, including Common Core standards. Annual educational and youth programs include a Get Fit Hall of Fame Training Camp program, a Heart of a Hall of Famer series, and a Play Football Skills Camp. Public special events held as part of the Hall of Fame enshrinement week celebration include a Hall of Fame Game and a Concert for Legends. Other major annual special events at the museum include the World Youth Football Championships, which bring more than 1,700 young athletes from 70 teams across North America to the complex’s stadium for a tournament event, and a Black History Month program focusing on the African-American experience in professional football.

2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, OH 44708, Phone: 330-456-8207

More Things to Do in Canton, OH

You are reading "15 Best Things to Do in Canton, Ohio " Back to Top

Attraction Spotlight: Canton Classic Car Museum

Located in Canton, Ohio, the Canton Classic Car Museum showcases a variety of automobile industry memorabilia, including classic cars, historic photography, and vintage transportation-related toys. The building that now houses the Canton Classic Car Museum was constructed around the turn of the century by local resident George Monnot.

History

In 1914, following the construction of the nearby Lincoln Highway, Monnot converted the building into a 24-hour travel service stop serving cross-country drivers. After reaching out to car entrepreneur Henry Ford about the construction of a Ford Model T vehicle, Monnot’s travel service stop extended its operations to encompass a Ford Motors dealership, which eventually became the largest Ford dealership in the United States. In 1978, Monnot’s travel service stop and dealership were purchased by Marshall Belden, Sr. for the purposes of creating a museum dedicated to the history of the automobile industry. The Canton Classic Car Museum officially opened to the public later that year.

Permanent Collections and Attractions

Today, the Canton Classic Car Museum serves as a rest stop attraction and nostalgia museum along northern Ohio’s Lincoln Highway, displaying a wide variety of artifacts and memorabilia related to the automobile and transportation industries. Collections range from classic cars and steam engines to film posters, historic photography, and vintage model car and train toys. As a family museum, the Canton Classic Car Museum offers unique exhibits and attractions for visitors of all ages.

The museum’s classic car collection makes up the centerpiece of its collections, including a historic Holmes full-sized air-cooled car constructed in Canton between 1917 and 1922, which was advertised as “America’s Most Comfortable” passenger car at the time of its release. A 1962 Amphicar on display is a unique hybrid streetcar and convertible pleasure boat, while a 1957 BMW Isetta gained fame for its use on the 1990s television sitcom Family Matters. Other classic passenger cars on display include a 1901 curved-dash Oldsmobile, a 1911 Model T Ford, a 1966 Ford Mustang, and a 1970 Plymouth Super Bird. Specialty industrial and government cars on display include an original, unrestored 1937 Ahrens-Fox Quad fire truck, a 1937 Packard Hearse, and a 1937 Studebaker President Bulletproof police car.

A large collection of vintage model cars and toys are showcased, including collections of Tonka trucks, Hot Wheels cars, and one-of-a-kind creations. Vintage advertising is showcased, including artifacts connected to the automobile industry and popular product brands during the golden era of American highway driving. Collections of historic photography and film posters also focus on the 20th century, creating a nostalgic atmosphere of the cultural climate at the time of the implementation of the American highway system.

Local memorabilia and nostalgia items are also showcased, including several items preserved from the city’s former Meyer’s Lake Park amusement park. Though the history of the amusement park dates back to the 1880s, the park is best remembered for its 20th-century historic atmosphere created after it was purchased by local entrepreneur George Sinclair in the 1920s. During its heyday, the park’s ballroom was host to a number of noted regional and national entertainers and was a prominent recreation spot in the northern Ohio community. Though the park closed in 1974, several of its rides are still in operation at other facilities, including a historic carousel transferred to Hartford, Connecticut. Items on display at the museum from the park include an antique Fortune Teller and a Monkey Band.

Memorabilia and ephemera connected to the social climate of the 20th century is also displayed, including political memorabilia connected to the Canton area, such as a portrait of President Franklin Roosevelt printed on a typewriter by an Ohio State Penitentiary inmate in 1941. A Canton Room contains thousands of pieces of memorabilia connected to the city’s history, including items connected to President William McKinley, who was born in the region. An Oriental Room showcases items connected to Asian cultures, including a collection of oriental rugs, while a variety of unique non-automobile-related items are scattered throughout the museum’s collections, including a historic moving thermometer. A large gift shop sells a wide variety of automobile-related items, including model cars, apparel, and children’s toys.

Programming and Outreach

The museum participates in a number of local and regional automobile-related events and competitions and partners with local community organizations. In 2018, the museum’s 1937 Studebaker President bulletproof police car was awarded the This Car Matters award at the annual Elegance at Hershey, one of the nation’s top 10 annual car shows. The museum’s director, Char Lautzenheiser, is a noted local philanthropist and public speaker, working with Canton businesses and organizations such as the University of Mount Union’s Continued Learning Program.

123 6th St SW, Canton, OH, Phone: 330-455-3603

More Things to Do in Canton, OH

You are reading "15 Best Things to Do in Canton, Ohio " Back to Top