Posted by Rick Taylor on Jul 12, 2019
M. J. (“Al”) Albacete  will be our keynote speaker this Friday, with a presentation titled:  “The Sculptures of the Stark County Courthouse: Unique in Ohio”.  Many of our members will remember Al as a former long-time Canton Rotarian, until his retirement as Executive  Director Emeritus of the Canton Museum of Art. 
 
Al maintains his position as an Adjunct Professor at Kent State University Stark Campus, teaching the history of architecture.  His wide-ranging studies, travels and personal interests during the course of his career have resulted in exhibitions and lectures throughout the state of Ohio and beyond, chief among them: “Architecture in Canton";  the Statue of Liberty: the Tomb of Tutankhamun (a.k.a.“King Tut”); and Michelangelo’s 'Pieta’. Al has several publications to his credit, writes occasional articles for the Repository, and is a frequent guest speaker for the Canton Symphony Orchestra. 
 
For his Rotary program, Albacete returns to his early “Architecture in Canton” days for a detailed account of two singular and fascinating details of our Stark County Courthouse: the 63-foot-long sculpted pediment along the Tuscarawas Street facade, and the “Trumpeters of Justice” atop the Courthouse clock tower.  While there are 88 county courthouses in Ohio, many of them with pediments, none of them have a fully sculpted pediment with meaning symbolic to their respective communities, as ours does.  Stark County's is, indeed, “unique.”   
 
After enjoying Al's illustrated lecture, you’ll never again walk past the Stark County Courthouse without pausing to look up!  And, by the way, he will be testing the knowledge of our members with questions from the podium!
 
Come join Al in what will be an entertaining and informative look at a local architectural gem.