Take Your Beer For a Walk: May 2026
The Academy Neighborhood
Welcome, local beer fan, to another edition of city exploration with a beer in-hand. We're going to take a zip through a part of town that's quiet, personable, with trees lining practically every street – the Academy Neighborhood in South Central Erie. Grab your favorite local beer, lace up your sneakies, and let's roll!
Erie's Academy Neighborhood is situated toward the southern point of Erie's city axis, running from State Street to Old French Road and East 27th Street to East 37th Street. Give them a Google search and you'll find periodic neighborhood meetups, access to improvement grants, a National Night Out celebration, and a tool lending library for residents in need of that one tool they'll use a single time without having to buy it. Sounds pretty neighborly to me!
We'll begin our monthly trip by starting at the corner of West 32nd and State streets, a corner occupied by the Jefferson Educational Society. The Jefferson has played a prominent role in Erie since 2008, providing lectures, courses, and seminars to keep your brain in tip-top shape. Their annual Global Summit brings speakers like former president Barack Obama, astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, journalist Judy Woodruff, and so many more. Back in 2013, this writer helped with the Perry 200, a broad celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie. Does anyone remember the 100,000 people watching the parade down West 12th Street? I sure do. Cheers to you, Jefferson Educational Society!
From here we'll head south along State Street to 3514 State, home to Erie News Now. You honestly can't miss the building, it's the only one in the area with a giant antenna in their backyard. Most likely you're familiar with the content this building churns out on a daily basis offering television affiliate broadcasts for WICU and WSEE and housing a radio station, HAPPI 927. Local news coverage is important and helps us stay zeroed in on our community's issues and happenings – cheers to you, Erie News Now!
Fun fact before we move along with our beer, the neighborhood layout behind Erie News Now actually features curved streets, an unusual feature in Erie's usual grid-oriented street layout. Crazy, right?
Next, let's carry our pint east along East 35th Street. A two-block journey will land you at French Street, turn left here, heading north. Remember when I said the neighborhood was tree-lined? Holy maple leaves Batman! They're everywhere and it's wonderful! Three blocks later along French, turn right onto East 32nd Street. A hundred more paces will reward you with a clearing on your right side, home to Baker's Field. Honoring Isaac Baker, a prominent men's clothing maker and business owner, the area's general-purpose park and recreation spot offers a soccer field, gentle walking path, and some picnic tables to enjoy, well, a local beer? Cheers to you, you beautiful bit of green space!
May is a great month to take a stroll with (or without, I guess) your pint. Thanks for coming along with me exploring Erie's Academy Neighborhood. Keep drinking, and walking, local!
Jeff McCullor is the co-owner of Erie Ale Works. He can be reached at jeff@eriealeworks.com
