Stan Hywet ("stone quarry") is the 65-room Tudor Revival country house built by Goodyear Tire co-founder Frank Seiberling and his wife Gertrude in the early 1910s. At the time it was the sixth largest house ever built in the United States; today it is by some distance Akron's most impressive single sight. The half-timbered façade, the slate roofs, the great hall with its musicians' gallery, the linenfold panelling brought over from English country houses — none of it is invented, and very little of it is reproduction.
The 70 acres of gardens, designed by Warren Manning, are arguably as good as the house. The Japanese garden, the great meadow, the birch-lined entrance allée, and the formal English garden are all maintained at near-original condition. The walking circuit takes ninety minutes.
Self-guided tours of the house take about an hour; a docent-led "behind the scenes" tour adds another hour and is worth the upgrade. The estate's holiday lighting in December — they call it Deck the Hall — has become a regional event.