Jeff

The Carew Garage was an elevator-operated garage, although I never saw it in action. Tower Place took over Elder-Beerman's and the garage's footprint, and there is a pretty strange parking garage on top of Tower Place that you get to through the garage across from McAlpin's. A lot of people don't know about it so my guess is it's mostly employees parking in there No, that garage is open to the pubilc. Its built around the skylight in the Tower Place courtyard. I usually try to park there when I go downtown (as an alternative to the Fountain Square garage). From what I recall the Fith/Race Tower had a second level gallery of sorts wrapping aorund the building & connected to the skywalk that was filled with little indy fast food or quick food places...it seemed like a very active bit of retail.

Grim.

What makes Franklin really fabulous is that Millionaires Row...which is on both sides of the river... lined by strips of wooded parkland and old vintage (or reproduction) streetlights on the parallel streets. The arrangement of street, park, river, and mansions lends a very urbane feel to the town. And, for us bluegrass fans, the famous Lakes Jewlers is on the main street, where they sell old time country and bluegrass CDs and albusm, or they used to. One of the surviving old 19th century paper factories of the Miami Valley is in town, too. north of downtown along the river. It makes roofing felts now, but you can still see the old fashioned industrial architecture evident in the main building.

You can actually find Mershman tables online....they are at antique sites.

Nothing says "industrial Midwest" better this a big brick abandoned industrial complex. "Oh but ain’t that america for you and me/ Ain’t that america we’re someting to see baby/ Ain’t that america, home of the free/ Big empty factories for you and me"

The Sorg Mansion is equal to the grand victorian mansions in Clifton. Perrhaps it is one of the top ten mansions in the state....it is truely and impressive feat of architecture. But such an odd surname. Sorg means sorrow in German.

There was another article about this in the paper again. Theres concerns aboout how this is going to impact the local Delphi suppliers...with maybe the end result being more than the 5K- 6K they are saying that may lose their jobs directly from the shutdown. And also about the impact on local governments with the loss of tax money.

In Dayton it would have to be General Surplus. Yes, they did tear down some of the last canal era buildings for a parking lot, but it still is the real deal for a locally owned "outfitters" for warm outdoorsy clothes (plust their occasional "Warsaw Pact Buyout" military surplus items..... )

For a "home-made" take on public radio in the Dayton areaa there is WDPS 89.5, which is sort of a teaching station for the Dayton school district...which defaults to Christian programming on off-hours. Yet wedged in there are these three interesting shows. Fridays 3PM to 430 PM "A Right Song and Dance", which is music from the British Isles...Ireland, Scotland, England, and occasionally some from Wales. Folk and folk-rock sounds. Im a regular listner to this one as im a big fan of this kind of music. Saturdays 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, an unnamed German language show...hosted by what sounds like two housewives and occasionaly "Dieter" (not the one from Sprockets), which is a show of "schlager" (German language pop music, occasionally some other things)...which does announcements from the three German clubs in the town...the Eintracht, the Edelweiss, and the Liderkranz-Turner, and also the Czechoslovakian club (they have alot of polka dances at the Czech club, it seems). Sundays 9:00 AM to Noon, a Hungarian show. This is really strange music to my ears....they do a mix of what sounds like trad music occassionally mixed in with Hungarian pop, and last weekend they did excerpts from a Hungarian light operetta. Anyway, some of the very non-standard musical offerings available on the Dayton airwaves. I think WDPS also does jazz and R&B music, and they also have an Friday afternoon "world music " show that does oddiites like arabic rap.

Well..when we say "south" we really mean "Appalachia", as ColDayMan noted. Indeed..Dwight Yoakams home town. "Reading Writing Route 23" They learned readin', writin', Route 23 To the jobs that lay waiting in those cities' factories They learned readin', writin', roads to the north To the luxury and comfort a coal miner can't afford They thought readin', writin', Route 23 Would take them to the good life that they had never seen They didn't know that old highway Could lead them to a world of misery Have you ever been down Kentucky-way Say south of Prestonburg Have you ever been up in a holler Have you ever heard A mountain man cough his life away From diggin' that black coal In those dark mines, those dark mines If you had you might just understand The reason that they left is all behind Chorus: They learned readin', wrightin', Route 23 To the jobs that lay waitin' in those cities' factories They learned readin', writin', roads to the north To the luxury and comfort a coal miner can't afford They thought readin', writin', Route 23 Would take them to the good life that they had never seen They didn't know that old highway Could lead them to a world of misery Have you ever seen 'em Put the kids in the car after work on Friday night Pull up in a holler about 2 a.m. And see a light still shinin' bright Those mountain folks sat up that late Just to hold those little grandkids In their arms, in their arms And I'm proud to say that I've been blessed And touched by their sweet hillbilly charm Chorus: They learned readin', writin', Route 23 To the jobs that lay waiting in those cities' factories They learned readin', writin', roads to the north To the luxury and comfort a coal miner can't afford They thought readin', writin', Route 23 Would take them to the good life that they had never seen They didn't know that old highway Could lead them to a world of misery Yeah, it turns out that that old highway, Leads you to a world of misery They found out that that old highway Leads you to a world of misery... ....that little mention of Prestonsburg. Well, I know a few folks in Dayton with that connection....and Route 23 is or was also High Street in downtown Columbus. @@@@@@@@@@ A bit more to give you that appalachian feel in Dayton. Radio WBZI AM 1500 plays country oldies, but also does a drive-time 3-5 PM bluegrass show (hosted by Joe Mullins, the son of a local bluegrass legend) on weekdays. A bit cornpone (especially the folksy adverstising), but its a pretty authentic represenation of the "mountain south" influence in the Dayton area... WBZI Radio From the Virginia mountains by way of Harvard comes Fred Bartenstein, who hosts a Saturday night bluegrass show on WYSO FM 93.7 ..Banks of the Ohio...Freds show is more "educational" as this is public radio, and is sort of a musical hisotry of the genre through various periods.... Music. These shows will turn you on to concerts and venues, which are sometimes in unlikely places like bingo halls and VFW posts.... Yet, for live music with an appalachian Ohio twist a must-see would be the annual show by the Dry Branch Fire Squad. This band is does orginal compositions, traditional numbers, and now covers by modern and new upcoming artists like Si Kahn and Gillian Welch. They till the musical fields of old-time music moving into bluegrass and more contemporary folk, so you'll hear John Henry, Stephen Foster's "Hard Times" as well as Si Khan's "Aragon Mill" in their repetoire, as well as home-made songs about local events like the great Xenia Tornado (which you will hear about when you get here). This is a touring band but they come back to Dayton for a concert around New Years at the Canal Street Tavern. Imagine a cozy music bar in an old factory neighborhood on a cold winters night, packed with people ....listening to an excellent collection of new and old tunes, and also bandleader Roy Thomasons very droll repartee between songs. Worth the money and braving the crowd as they really are that good (at least if you like this kind of music) Dry Branch Fire Squad

I'm not a big fan of the Kettering Towers ground floor areas. They seem sort of chopped up an not as simple or clean as one would expect from a Miesianesque skyscraper This was one of the premier banks in Dayton at the time...the Winters Bank, so one would expect modernist elegance and grandeur. Yet there is no proper banking hall like one would expect in a downtown bank skyscraper...you take those escaltors up from the "lobby" to this low dark banking area on a sort-of mezzanine. A bit of a letdown.

A bit more on the Southern Appalachian influence in the Dayton area. One of the big contributions locally has been the strong bluegrass/gospel music scene (probably stronger in the past than nowadays). Some big names in genre came from this areay

To add to what ColDayMan said, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, which I mentioned upthread, is one of the cultural institutions to arise from the local African American community. Not only is the DCDC locally sigifigant it also has national importance for its creative work in the art of contemporary dance. You can read a history and intro to the DCDC here

I am not a native so probably not that much an expert on local ancestry, but PigBoy is probably right about the Germans. This place is pretty much bland Middle America, with most of the people of European immigrant ancestry thoroughly assimilated... you won't find any real ethnic neighborhoods left here, like you would find in Chicago or Cleveland. The Appalachian influence is probably largest in religion (which perhaps acounts for the large pentecostal, evangelical, and fundamentalist denominations in the area) and also in speech patterns and dialect, and perhaps a local fondness for certain stereotypical "southern" pop-culture things. Dayton is probably more "southern" sometimes than one would expect. @@@ For speclialty items like those spices or seasonings you mentioned you should probably stock up before you come here. Jungle Jims may carry those brands, but be safe and bring your own to start. Jungle Jims does have a pretty amazing selection of things, but they are closer to Cincinnati, so its a bit of a drive to go grocery shopping. @@@ German beer and sausage. There are no German restaurants in Dayton...you have to go to Cincinnati for that...the Hofbrauhaus in Newport, across the river from downtown Cincinnati, is your best bet for fairly authentic German food and beer.

I need to go out and take some pix of the local Delphi plants before they close and are torn down.

On that poll I was split between Kentucky and "other states in the Midwest" since I'm a native Chicagoan, but though I am sort of an adopted Kentuckian, Chicago is my true home town...culturally I probably remain more a Chicago urban "ethnic" than a Kentucky person (aside for my love of bluegrass music and old folk ballads). So I voted "other states in the Midwest".

Dephi Files for Bankruptcy Dayton Daily News DAYTON | Delphi Corp., the nation's largest auto parts maker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization early Saturday afternoon, adding new uncertainty for the company's 5,700 area employees, business partners and local governments dependent on its tax revenues... ...

Festivals. Well, you can search this site, as I've posted on a number of festivals that are held downtown over the course of the summer...though I didnt post on the Reggae Festival. The Trotwood Jazz Festival, though brand new, promises to be a great event. I went this year and it is in a beautiful wooded park...it is a pay-event. Two festivals that are very popular that I did not go to are the Greek Festival held at the greek orthodox church up in Grafton Hill next to the art insitute , ovelooking downtown. And the Art Institute Octoberfest is also pretty popular. You have to pay to get into that one, but its a combination juried arts & crafts show, and an Octoberfest, with lots of beer (including im told a great import selection) and German bands. Mountain Days is also pretty popular...it is more a music festival with some big name country and bluegrass performers (this year they had Patty Lovelace)..Dayton has, it seems, a very large population from the southern Appalachians, so this is a big event for that community. Its a pay festival and Ive been once. I should say that the big "wild party" festival is supposed to be Halloween in the Oregon District, which fills up Fifth Street. I've never been but I've heard it does get a bit rowdy and boozy.

Oh, a neat thing to do on Saturday Morning would be to go to the Webster Station Market, which is an old railroad freighthouse in this old industrial area which was turned into a "market"...really a bunch of stands that sell foods, flowers, etc....

Traffic is worst in the suburbs in Dayton. Avoid the Dayton Mall area during rush hour. The freeways are usually pretty free, though ive been on jams on I-75 on occasion, near the Dryden Road/Edwin Moses exits. @@@@@@ If you like the peforrming arts Dayton is best at dance. Seasons tickets to the ballet, if just for one season, is worth it as they are quite good. Also, perhaps even better than the ballet is the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, "the DCDC", who have put on execllent shows. Then there is Rtyhem and Shoes, which does a contemporary dance interpretation of traditional American theatrical/vaudville dance, like tap. The Symphony is actually pretty good too..they are very innovative in their programming and concert series. I am a music fan so go out alot. Dayton is excellent for a small provincial city for a very active live music sence...some of which gets featured on a local public radio show on Friday nights..the "Around the Fringe Show"....and you can get the local band CDS at local record shops like Gem City or Dingleberrys....Germ City is actually ok for a record store. For big-name folk and traditional music CityFolk is a local production company and puts on great tourin shows of various types of traditional music. Their concerts are usually in the grand old Victoria Theatre downtown. Get an orchestra seat if you go to any of these concerts. My favorite music club is probably Canal Street Tavern. They play trad stuff (bluegrass, folk, celtic, blues) but also alternative rock. They book local and out-of-town artists. As it is run by an old folky they have the "Musicians Co-Op" on Tuesday nights which is a showcase for local acoustic peformers. Gillys is the good place for jazz, and they are always booking big-name jazz acts into their club. There are a few live music places in the Oregon district, and this scene spills out from the Oregon into downtown with live music at Elbos and, on occasion, at the Foundry nightclub (although I think these are more dance clubs). @@@@@ Food and Drink. For a good wine, beer, and spirits selectin Arrow Wine and Dorothy Lane Market are your best bet. For good food and ingredients if you cook Dorothy Lane Market has a good meat and fish selection, a great bakery, and a pretty good vegtable department. There is this new place that is getting some foody traffic, Trader Joes, but I think its a chain. There are good places for specialty foods in nearby Yellow Springs, too. Yellow Springs should be on your itinerary for perhaps a Saturday afternoon windowshopping, on Xenia Drive, I think, as its their main street. It is a little college town with a very bohemian feel to it and has some pretty good artisans working there. Charlies Market in Old North Dayton is a place I go to for some German things I like, but it is sort of grungy and you have to know what your looking for. Ive got some home-made Hungarian sausage there too, but that was I think a one-time good deal. I really wouldn't recommend it for food shopping, just a local curiosity. I've seen that Woodys Little Farm in suburban West Carolloton has some good imported beers, too. For fresh seafood, aside from the DLM, there is Arcade Seafood downtown, and I think Jays Restaurant (in the Oregon district) also does retail sales of fresh seafood (not sure about that). Jays has a reputation as a good seafood restaurant but Im not a seafood fan so cant say..... Restaurants My favorite is in Yellow Springs, "The Winds. Cafe" ..they have a website, where you can see their menus. They have a spinoff, Meadowlark, in a strip center near the Dayton Mall., which though small, is good. In town in the Oregon District, the two I've been to are Cafe Bouelevard and Blue Moon. Both quite good. Blue Moon has a spin off located in quaint suburban Centerville, Eclipse, which also has a website.. I've had some truely excellent dinners at Eclipse. Figlios (based in Columbus) in suburban Kettering in the upscale Town and Country shopping center is a good wine and pasta place, with those wood-fired gourmet pizzas. I usually have some pasta dish there. The fancy French restaurant is L'Auberge in suburban Kettering. The dining room is sort of stuffy, but they have a bistro section which is more casual. There is another French place in suburban Oakwood, C'Est Tout. more casual and maybe not as haute cuisine. So, two French restuarants. For more ethnic cooking and some local history thrown in go to Eleanors Amber Rose, in Old North Dayton. This was the old "ethnic neighborhood", and the restaurant is in an old Polish butcher shop. They serve food from Lithuania (the owners are of Lithuanian ancestry), Poland, and Hungary. I would say this is probably one of the more "Dayton" of the restaurants that Ive mentioned. There are quite a few Chinese places around, a few Thai, and a few Indian. I like Amar India for Indian, located near the Dayton Mall. This is actually a very nice, tho small, white-tableclothe restaurant, not a hole-in-the-wall. Also near the Dayton Mall there is a Punjabi and Lebanese place. And I think a central American place in suburban Bellbrook (not sure about that). There starting to be more Mexican places, but they leave me cold as my partner is of Mexican ancestry and is an accomplished cook so I get that at home! lol ! ...but mention should be made of El Meson,run by a Colombian which is not Mexican but does specialty ethnic cooking from Latin America and Spain and the Carribean. Here is a review/ I'm thinking there are some Greek places in town, too...im thinking Tickets in Fairborn is Greek...i have a Greek coworker and will ask him.... And of course there are tons of chain restaurants. Two should be mentioned..Carvers Steakhouse and J Alexanders. Both are quite good, and J Alexanders has huge portions. And, finally, there is the venerable Pine Club...a late 1940s steakhouse that is still in buisness and is a local institution. All dark panelling. And steaks and stewed tomatos. @@@@@@@ For things to do, some have been mentioned upthread and in Pigboys post. I'd add to do some bicycling on the local bike trail network, which is quite extensive. Take a walking tour of the Oregon District...both the Fifth Street shopping/nightclub street and the residential streets to the south. Take a walking tour/go window shopping in Yellow Springs. Take a country drive out to the pleasant rural villiages of Waynesville and Germantown (and stop to go antiqueing in Waynesville....tho Germantown is, to me, a bit nicer and not as touristy). And Cincinnati is a short 45-50 minutes away, which is a entirely additional world to explore.

going down.....Rochester must be a sad place, too..... The Dayton metro area was second only to the Detroit metro area for the largest employment decline over the past year, according to the government. * Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. -21,900 * Dayton -4,800 * Rochester, N.Y. -4,600 * Youngstown-Warren-Boardman -4,300 * Holland-Grand Haven, Mich. -3,500 * Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor -3,300 Rochester, N.Y. — third on the loss list — is the home of Eastman Kodak, which has been shedding thousands of jobs as it weathers the consumer switch from film to digital photography. In Dayton, the job loss could worsen in the next two weeks if Delphi Corp., the world's largest auto parts maker, files for bankruptcy. The move could lead to the closing of several troubled parts plants in the Dayton area, which employ about 5,700.

The place was always hopping when i was there. I usually went for those events they where having down at the river, so the NOTL was not the 'destination' per se, but I did notice how crowded and busy it was on that main "plaza" level.

...one of the neat things about Franklin is its riverfront, which is parkland lined, on both sides, by these grand villas and mansions...very urbane.....one of the better urban ensembles in SW Ohio. @@@@@ As for Englewood, it is mostly main Street....along Main Street..Route 48, I think....youd think there'd be a more "National Road" orientation, but the older part of town is really strung out N-S, rather than E-W. Englewood is a bit like Centerville in that there is still an "old town" core there to some degree...one of Daytons suburbs that has a "there " there.

Those are pretty good pix. Toledo does remind me a bit of Dayton...except for that great river dividing the city...and I like those old buildings that are, I think, from that old neighborhood east of the river. Good shot of the Willis Boyer, too...

hah..yeah, I date myself w. my music choices! Chocolate City would be a good pick too (more for Dayton...but maybe not...rather than Chocolate City Dayton is Two-Tone Town...which is another dated musical reference). Anyway, back to OTR: Looking at the long-term trends (and assuming that gentrification doesnt take hold) one can see where this neighborhood is heading...depopulation and eventual abandonment. But that probably wont happen for the reasons stated...too hi-viz, too close to downtown. I dont think Cincinnati will let the place turn into a midwestern version of the South Bronx.