Dr. Robert Smith House

Dr. Robert Smith House is a two-story wooden residence built in the Craftsman style, with deep roof overhangs, exposed beams, and a front porch supported by brick columns. The interior has been carefully restored to show how the rooms were arranged and furnished during the 1930s.

Between 1915 and 1950, this house became where Dr. Robert Smith and Bill Wilson developed and tested their groundbreaking recovery program that would later become Alcoholics Anonymous. Their work here launched a global movement that transformed how addiction recovery was understood and practiced.

The rooms are arranged as they were in the 1930s, particularly the Surrender Room where visitors can see how spiritual principles became central to recovery practices. This space shows how the home functioned as both a residence and a place where people gathered to support one another.

The house welcomes visitors during daytime hours, with accessible rooms you can walk through at your own pace. Plan to spend time noticing both the period furnishings and the architectural details throughout the building.

The kitchen table where Dr. Smith and Bill Wilson wrote down their core ideas still sits in the kitchen as one of the few original pieces of furniture from that era. Visitors can see this simple but significant table and understand how groundbreaking ideas sometimes begin at ordinary places.

Location: Akron

Inception: 1914

Address: 855 Ardmore Avenue

GPS coordinates: 41.09583,-81.54889

Latest update: December 12, 2025 09:05