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Until 1924Akron Art Museum support made it possible to hire a professional director, the only employees were volunteers. From 1931 to 1945, the Institute was forced to once more rely entirely on volunteers as a result of the tightening of finances and the cessation of funding from the City. Akron Art Museum was an art center that held classes and showed mostly local artists, much of the time in borrowed spaces. The collection was small, eclectic, and entirely made up of gifts. It included archeological artifacts as well as decorative and fine art. The Institute established its first permanent residence, a historic mansion, in 1937. The building and a significant portion of the collection were destroyed in a devastating fire just four years later, posing a threat to the Institute's existence. It emerged like a phoenix from the ashes following World War II with a professional staff and a new focus: design and fine art.