DAYTON - Polishing the Gem City

[BigDipper 80]

Dayton isn't a city that tends to get a lot of national attention beyond the standard Rust Belt narrative. But Dayton has been quietly rebuilding itself into one of the most livable small cities in the Midwest. It's bike friendly, immigrant friendly, LGBT friendly, and racist-unfriendly. The city has its share of urban problems just like most other cities in the region, but the community here is very strong and is actively working to build a city for all of its citizens. Below is a brief rundown of some of the activity going on in the urban core.

IMG_9702 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Greetings, Dayton!

IMG_9703 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Dayton has over 300 miles of paved bike trails, and these new wayfinding signs have begun to pop up along some of them.

IMG_9700 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Watersports on the Great Miami River are always a big draw.

IMG_9701 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Overlooking downtown is the Dayton Art Institute, which is currently getting a top-to-bottom makeover.

IMG_9707 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
We'll pop through the McPherson neighborhood before heading downtown.

IMG_9709 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9710 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9711 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Both the tapas bar (foreground) and Riverfront Grande apartments (background) are new in 2019.

IMG_9713 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The Water Street apartments were one of the first new-build housing developments in recent years.

IMG_9716 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
And this Fairfield Inn was the first new downtown hotel in decades.

IMG_9717 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The beautiful Delco Lofts opened last year.

IMG_9719 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The Centerfield Lofts are scheduled to open later this year.

IMG_9721 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
They have a great view!

IMG_9724 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The 2nd Street Market has helped attract more people to the eastern half of downtown.

IMG_9726 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
These townhouses are a couple of years old now.

IMG_9727 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Another old warehouse on its way to become lofts.

IMG_9729 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The Dayton Steam Plant is now an event center.

IMG_9730 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The building on the right is Class A offices, while the building on the left is becoming a hotel.

IMG_9734 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Woodard Developments out of Columbus bought this warehouse complex. No word what they're going to do with it yet.

IMG_9737 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The new library is still looking spiffy.

IMG_9740 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9742 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
More new townhouses.

IMG_9743 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
One of the first loft conversions in the city.

IMG_9745 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The Wheelhouse opened last year.

IMG_9748 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Reza's is a new Turkish coffee joint that opened in the Wayne Avenue Coffee District. Dayton has a sizeable Turkish refugee population.

IMG_9750 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Crafted & Cured is one of my favorite bars in the city.

IMG_9753 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9756 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
A new brewery. There are five in the immediate downtown area.

IMG_9758 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9759 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9760 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9761 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9762 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Some houses being fixed up in the South Park neighborhood.

IMG_9763 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
People aren't afraid of color in Dayton!

IMG_9764 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9765 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9767 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9769 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9772 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9774 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Moving into the Oregon District, Dayton's oldest neighborhood.

IMG_9777 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Dayton is the second-oldest major Ohio city, so it has a disproportionate amount of antebellum architecture compared to many other Rust Belt cities.

IMG_9778 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9779 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9781 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9782 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9785 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9786 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9788 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
This church is now used as a rock-climbing gym.

IMG_9790 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9791 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9793 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9794 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9795 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9797 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9798 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9800 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9801 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
When it opened, the Neon was a Cinerama theater. It inspired LA and Seattle to open new Cinerama theaters of their own.

IMG_9806 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9808 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Dayton has the oldest electrified transit network in the country, dating back to 1888.

IMG_9811 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9812 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr

IMG_9813 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Some more new construction, for the insurance firm Caresource.

IMG_9815 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The building in the foreground is being converted into a hotel. In the midground is the late Cesar Pelli's Performance Place tower.

IMG_9817 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Dayton's tallest.

IMG_9820 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
I.M. Pei designed the building in the foreground.

IMG_9823 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
The Dayton Arcade is undergoing a massive renovation currently.

_31_0569 by Ethan Kocjan, on Flickr
Both of these buildings are part of the same Arcade complex, which spans an entire city block.

I hope this little walking tour was an insightful look into a city that doesn't show up around here very often!

[OhioGuy]

Excellent tour!

[DetroitSky]

Great tour. I haven't been to Dayton in about two years and I'm glad to see development activity pick up, especially with the arcade. I'm excited to finally see the inside one day for myself. Downtown does have a long way to go, but hopefully this development rate continues for awhile.

Has there been any news on some of the larger vacant buildings downtown like the Fidelity Building, Centre City Building, Paru Tower, etc?

[BigDipper 80]

The Fidelity building has recieved state tax credits for an apartment conversion, but nothing visible has happened yet. Centre City unfortunately had to give its money back to the sate recently, and I've heard nothing about the Paru tower recently. However, it looks like the Windsor Companies are moving forward with their plan to redevelop the Grant-Deneau tower into office space and residential. I think once the Arcade wraps up and proves successful, we'll start seeing some of these other larger sites get reworked. They're just really tricky to do in a city of this size, especially when you don't have a Dan Gilbert type to throw endless amounts of money at them.

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by BigDipper 80

The Fidelity building has recieved state tax credits for an apartment conversion, but nothing visible has happened yet. Centre City unfortunately had to give its money back to the sate recently, and I've heard nothing about the Paru tower recently. However, it looks like the Windsor Companies are moving forward with their plan to redevelop the Grant-Deneau tower into office space and residential. I think once the Arcade wraps up and proves successful, we'll start seeing some of these other larger sites get reworked. They're just really tricky to do in a city of this size, especially when you don't have a Dan Gilbert type to throw endless amounts of money at them.

A decade ago we didn’t have a Dan Gilbert type either. Point being a “savior” could come at any time. I wouldn’t be surprised if downtown Dayton is booming 10 years from now. The city has great bones and a lot of potential.

[dc_denizen]

Nice architecture...looks like a mini Columbus

[dc_denizen]

This is awesome btw

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.day...gQYQO/amp.html

[The North One]

Wow Dayton is beautiful! This makes me wanna visit.

[AviationGuy]

I may actually get to see Dayton soon. A friend and I are talking about visiting the aviation museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. I'd like to spend at least a day driving around the city, too.

[mrnyc]

yay a new dayton thread, homeland of my spouse. great job.

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

I may actually get to see Dayton soon. A friend and I are talking about visiting the aviation museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. I'd like to spend at least a day driving around the city, too.

yes as avaiationguy you are mandated to visit wright pat! well worth it.

[BigDipper 80]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

I may actually get to see Dayton soon. A friend and I are talking about visiting the aviation museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. I'd like to spend at least a day driving around the city, too.

During your driving tour, I'd recommend stopping at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park. It's a great orientation about the lives of the Wright Brothers, and you can visit one of their bicycle shops, too.

[edale]

Nice to see Dayton here on SSP. While parts are a little rough around the edges, there is a lot to love about Dayton. The Air Force museum at Wright Patt is fantastic- even for someone like me who doesn't really care much about the topic. The Art Institute is also great for a city of Dayton's size, and I'd say its collection is better than museums in cities far larger (ahem, Columbus). The Oregon District is fantastic, and I really love driving and walking around Oakwood- a wealthy inner ring suburb with beautiful old estates and great parks. Plus, within Dayton's orbit you have some amazing hiking at Clifton Gorge State Park, the wonderful little hippy town of Yellow Springs (home of Dave Chapelle), and two HBCUs (Wilberforce and Central State). It's a pretty cool, slept on part of the country!

[LAsam]

Thanks for the Dayton photos! As a former longtime central Ohioan, it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to see Dayton doing well.

[jdcamb]

I worked for Clark, Boardman, and Callaghan. We purchased Lexis Nexis in 1998. We consolidated our operations into CBC's operations in Deerfiled IL. I used to enjoy my time in Dayton and Cinncinati.

[IMBY]

Nice to see you have an IM Pei building in Dayton and I really like Dayton's tallest, so masculine looking!

[mrnyc]

^ if hes a nerdy type i would rec a visit to this place, one of the first 3D printing coffeshop/bar joints:

http://www.protobuildbar.com/


or on the err, umm, wilder side, this axe throwing bar.

because liquor and throwing axes, right?:

https://www.wildaxethrowing.com/

[MplsTodd]

Thanks for the Dayton tour! My wife is from Centerville (S of Dayton) and through many visits I have come to really appreciate the gem city! While the Air Force Museum is a must-see, I'd also like to put in a plug for Carillon Historical Park. I went through there a year ago and frankly wasn't expecting much. However, it's a fantastic exhibit of Dayton's history, covering its impact on aviation, bicycling, and NCR (the IBM of 100 years ago), along with historical sites and a great overview of the 1913 flood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillon_Historical_Park

[Echoes]

Looking good, Dayton.

[EastSideHBG]

Wow, reminds me of Harrisburg, PA quite a bit! Cool pics!

[themaguffin]

Nice to see these developments in Dayton.