PhillyEngineer

I agree with edale. This site is perfect for a skyscraper that is mixed use - office, apartment/condo & ground floor restaurant/retail. What we end up with is a short bland carbon copy of their bland headquarters at Main & Monument. While it is nice that they are expanding downtown, Dayton needs to think bigger.

It's so sad. Trotwood seems to be falling apart and nobody knows how to save it. :-(

This has the potential to be very exciting. I used to work for Wolpert, which was in the building that is just south of the proposed development.

I remember it too. I worked at the Noble Shoe Store during the Christmas season of 1986.

I thought it would be good to give an update on this area. The reconstruction of I-75 has changed much in the area around Great Miami Blvd. The Blvd. has been completely rebuilt from Main to Riverview. The old Suttmiller's looks like it is now an office building. That one remaining apartment building on the Blvd. is gone. So are the old car dealerships on Main at the I-75 interchange. The area around the interchange looks ripe for development. Hopefully the City and perhaps the hospital can get something going here. :-)

That is more good news for the Oregon District (CoCo's has already moved).....and the new restaurant in the old Boulevard Haus space sounds like it is already a done deal: http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/taste/entries/2012/12/04/new_restaurant_in_the_works_at.html/

have they torn down the "old" mall yet next to Opry Land? That thing didn't last 10 years--of course the flood didn't help. I was just in Nashville in October visiting family. Opry Mills Mall recently reopened after a long and bitter fight with their insurance company over the damage done by the food. BTW - Downtown Nashville once had 3 department stores - Harvey's - closed in the early 80's, Cain Sloan - closed in late 80's and Castner Knott - closed in the mid-90's.

There's seems to be a restaurant explosion in downtown Dayton. A 3rd new one is opening in January: http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/taste/entries/2012/12/03/dayton_dining_boom_third_new_r.html/

In addition to the previously mentioned Downtown Grille & Cafe, another restaurant is opening in downtown Dayton: http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/taste/entries/2012/11/28/new_restaurant_to_open_monday_1.html/

More bad news for Trotwood: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/business/trotwood-kmart-to-close-in-january/nStSL/ :-(

Marriott just announced that it is ending it's management of its hotel in downtown Trenton. The hotel was built with a huge public subsidy and has lost money each of the 10 years it has been open.

That is great news. Now the other corporations in the Dayton area need to follow suit. The corporations in the greater Dayton area need to have more pride in their community and help the downtown Dayton market. A healthy downtown market says a lot about an area and visitors notice this. Also, employees like things to do during and after work and have close access to these things and a downtown area covers this. If more corporations were in downtown Dayton, then more business would be there to support them. I'm actually shocked that businesses don't choose to be in there downtown market rather than the burbs. It's a place for the community to come together and people like to be a part of this energy. Amen - wouldn't it be great if Lexus Nexus left Miami Township and moved downtown?

CareSource is adding over 200 new jobs in Downtown Dayton - They are moving into the old Elder Beerman building at 40 W. 2nd Street: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/business/caresource-to-move-into-second-downtown-building/nRBFW/

Sidebar has closed - the owner is being evicted.

They are going to put one of those flagship Walgreens here in Center City Philly. :-D

A new restaurant is opening in Downtown Dayton: http://www.facebook.com/notes/downtown-dayton/cafeteria-with-class-to-open-in-pnc-center/351255881607966

Four new business are going to open in Dayton's Oregon Arts District. http://www.daytondailynews.com/business/four-new-businesses-preparing-to-open-in-oregon-district-1374239.html These, along with the recently opened Dayton Cyclery on Wayne Avenue shows that there seems to be some momemtum in that area.

Our families may have met somewhere. Was it Beth Abraham? Losing a parent as a part of something makes it even harder. I do know this because my father (whom I lost in '09) was the catering manager of the Hotel Miami (across the street from the future Beerman's site) for a few years, shortly before it became a part of Rike's. Just found some hotel material which I will share. My parents were wed in the Sky Terrace. My mother's first job was at Yeck and Yeck. I believe they may have been located in the Kuhn's Building. My great Aunts and grandmother knew the Arcade when it was brand-new. Two aunts worked "at the NCR" as they would put it. I was bar mitzvahed at Temple Israel. Most interesting! The Van Cleve I only know from lore, sadly. My mother apparently slightly rebuffed my father when she met him, claiming to favor the Van Cleve in some way over the Miami. It was a lot newer. That favoritism didn't last. The Van Cleve had the famous Wagon Wheel Bar and apparently great food. The rooms were tiny, though. I know Nathan Milstein (the famed violinist) stayed there once. It was very close to the Miami. That parking lot still wants its hotel back. So - Irving Bloom, et al? I did have some Hebrew school in the old Community House connected to the sanctuary. Mrs. Fox was my primary teacher. I did two years of Hillel too, and I know that's moved. As they say - small world. It was Temple Israel, so our families may have crossed paths. My Bar Mitzvah was there in 1979. I just saw your post on the Miami Hotel. Amazing. My parents were married in the Van Cleve Hotel, which I think was just up Ludlow Street from the Miami. Yes, Rabbi Bloom officiated at my Bar Mitzvah and I had Mrs. Fox as a Hebrew teacher as well. The Community Hebrew School left Temple Israel in 1978 and moved to the new Jewish Community Center in Trotwood. That is now home to United Theological Seminary, which, like all of the Jewish synagogues has packed up and left Dayton View. You might be interested in this website: www.daytonhistorybooks.com. They have a series of pictures of Dayton from the 10's through the 2000's. They also have a blog where people can reminisce about Dayton. They may interested in some of your photos.

Our families may have met somewhere. Was it Beth Abraham? Losing a parent as a part of something makes it even harder. I do know this because my father (whom I lost in '09) was the catering manager of the Hotel Miami (across the street from the future Beerman's site) for a few years, shortly before it became a part of Rike's. Just found some hotel material which I will share. My parents were wed in the Sky Terrace. My mother's first job was at Yeck and Yeck. I believe they may have been located in the Kuhn's Building. My great Aunts and grandmother knew the Arcade when it was brand-new. Two aunts worked "at the NCR" as they would put it. I was bar mitzvahed at Temple Israel. It was Temple Israel, so our families may have crossed paths. My Bar Mitzvah was there in 1979. I just saw your post on the Miami Hotel. Amazing. My parents were married in the Van Cleve Hotel, which I think was just up Ludlow Street from the Miami.

Growing up, the upstairs dining room was one of my favorite haunts. I think they shared some of the career waitresses with the dining room Downtown. All of that was part of a service age we have been convincing ourselves we no longer need or want. Having a family connection there would be even harder. Yes - it is hard to see that store go - especially since my Mom recently passed away. The Beerman family belonged to my synagogue so I have a long history with them.

Glad to offer the pictures. There are many more -- some even surprising me. I was remembering the apartment buildings in Westbrook Village. I know there were houses behind our unit in Castlebrook (which was once a recommended place to live). I didn't know they may have been a part of the same complex. In the mid to late 70's, an apartment complex - called Westbrooke Village Apartments - was constructed around the northern boundary of the housing development (near the swimming pool complex). I am not sure if they were constructed by the same developer who did the homes in Westbrooke Village.

Yes you did - I remember seeing the aerial photography that you posted that showed the house I grew up in.

These bring back such memories for me - thank you for posting them. :clap:

Wow. I wandered around through the unfinished Westbrook Village, at the time that my family moved to Castlebrook - Summer of '74. Driving through that complex a couple of years ago sent chills through me. It was a perfect fossil! I do remember the municipal garage going up. Must have been '79. Nice to meet you, and thanks for commenting! We moved in to our house in WV in 1968. Westbrook Village was supposed to be much bigger - stretching all the way to Union Road. Sadly that never happened. Nice to meet you too and thanks for all of the pics of my hometown.

Yes - it's very sad. My Mom worked there on and off for over 20 years.