Greetings from Akron, Ohio!

When I moved to Akron in 1986, the local chamber of commerce had a "Welcome to Akron" guide. In this guide, they explain some local terms. One of the local terms that this book explained was the term "Devil Strip" to describe the section of lawn between the street and the sidewalk.

Well, I have been here for a while, and I have come to like the term. Keep in mind, when I moved here, it seemed like a pretty ridiculous expression. This strip was a "treelawn", a "curblawn" or something, but certainly not a "devil strip".

Every day, I drive past a sign which advises "No Parking on Devil Strip". These signs are throughout the city. The particular one that I drive past is near the Firestone High School baseball diamond.

In late 2000, I was driving near the park on Shatto, behind the West Market Walgreens, when I spotted a brand new no parking sign. I was alarmed - and somewhat concerned - that the sign said "No Parking on Lawn Area". What happened to the term Devil Strip? Has someone in Akron City Planning decided it is too old? Too politically incorrect? What is going on? We need to spring to action to save this term. Do whatever you think you must, before this term goes the way of the interbelt.

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Some other Devil Strip links:

• Scroll way down on this Word Detective column for a great explanation of the origin of the term.
• The Akron Beacon Journal's Bob Dyer takes up the cause in his Dyer Streets column on May 11, 2001.
• This Plant Lovers column offers great ideas on what to plant on your Devil Strip, even if it is only 3' wide.
• Akron Beacon Journal columnist David Giffels ponders if it is a devil strip or a devil's strip.
• In a commencement address at Ohio State in 1999, William Ferris of the NEH mentioned the many names for a tree lawn (it is towards the end of the address).
• Ever feel like putting your antenna in a tree on the Devil Strip?
• Several messages at railspot mention a Devils Strip, which apparently can be a useless strip of land next to the railroad tracks.
• Devils Strips have even been in poetry and prose.
• A history of the Howe family by Donald Howe documents that Orville Howe met his untimely fate in the Devil Strip.
• On a message board somewhere, Jeff ponders the devils strip.
• Singer Calfee Jones' first CD was titled No Parking on the Devil Strip
• A Colorado University assignment on dialects offers 6 choices for this strip: "(a) berg, (b) boulevard, (c) parking strip, (d) neutral ground, (e) devil strip, (f) city strip".
• Showing it's Akroness, when the Akron Wiki debuted, an article on the term Devil Strip was one of the first posted.
• The links go on and on. Raven McDavid checks in.
• The The Dirty Devil Canyon boasts a different sort of Devil Strip.
• To prove that I have nothing against senseless web pages (was that in doubt after reading *this* page?), here is a bit of prose where the writer remembers his uncle using the term Devils Strip.

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Other Akron Classics:

• Frozen Custard at Stricklands by Akron Fulton Airport
• Pizza at Luigi's on North Main - make sure to sit in the main room and play the Jukebox to see the Chicago Coin Band Box operate
• Chicken Paprikash at the New Era Cafe on East Market
• Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich at Molly's, just north of 21 & 585 in Barberton (Sadly, Molly's closed after the 2005 season).

- Posted December 2000, Last Updated 8/6/2006