Eric1

Funny. I just moved out of this exact neighborhood 3 months ago. Lived there for a few years. It looks cute from the outside, but the reality is that the whole area is consumed by drug trafficking and other crime. You learned quickly to keep nothing on your front porch or it would be stolen. The Circle K on 5th Street there would get robbed weekly. Scary place.

Just for an interesting note: The house you posted that is burnt down is in my neighborhood. I remember the night it burnt to the ground, and you could smell the char in the air for a few days afterwards. Speculation was that it was an Arson, as it had been abandoned for quite a long period of time. There are a number of Arsons in that area of late, and on July 4th a similar event occured on 3rd St. near the Chase Bank, resulting in two houses going up in flames.

This might sound a bit strange.. but.. Dayton has one of (if not the best) microbrew and craft beer stores in the entire state of Ohio. Belmont Party Supply is on Smithville Road and has beers that cant be found anywhere else in the state. Its one of those little Gems that most people dont talk about, but is highly revered on popular brewing sites (Ratebeer, Beer Advocate). So if you are into that type of thing, go there. You wont leave without spending 40 dollars in specialties.

Next to Germantown, Miamisburg still has one of the best collection of 19th century building in the Dayton area, and it is a place where this architectural patrimony actually has a chance, unlike Dayton city, which is pretty much a lost cause. Beyond Miamisburg SW Ohio has a weatlh of 19th towns and villages, often with structures dating back prior to the Civil War. One thinks of this region between Dayton and Cincinnati as the field for suburban expansion via urban sprawl, but it could also be a prime opportunity for historic preservation and adaptive re-use...not just towns and villages, but old farmhouses. Dont give up all hope quite yet. I know they are demolishing plenty in the West side and the 3rd Street corridor, but there are a few signs of life. The Oregon District is still buzzing, and rental/housing prices are still high enough to keep people away (my old apartment was there, and Ive learned rents have gone up over 1/3 of what I paid, and that was a year ago) South Park is amazing. If they can destroy that ugly apartment complex near Brown street, there is hope. St. Annes hill just needs to get rid of the crime. Thats a big solution to that problem. Looked at renting a house there but there are whole blocks that are filled with drug houses (the potential landlord pointed out the houses in the vicinity that were traffickers). The same can be said for Huffman Hill (once again, when I moved in, I noticed the 2 drug houses on my street with trafficking at all hours of the night).

Jeffrey Posted: "So its sort of like a certain period of suburbia frozen in time (to some degree). In some ways I find the vibe here really laid back & pleasant, particularly the older part of Trotwood. I really lke that town." @@@@@@ I spent a lot of time in that area of Montgomery Country growing up, especially the Trotwood/Englewood/Clayton/Union area. It would be interesting to see how class and demographic distinctions manifest in these areas, especially Trotwood. I remember how "Old Trotwood" around the old railroad tracks and Iams homestead was very, how would you say...quaint. Predominantly white, rural, and country. While if you look at areas closer to Salem Avenue, it becomes very African American, Urban, and almost faster. Talking to some people in Trotwood it was always a source of friction, since the old High School was in the "old" part of town, while there was an influx of newcomers from closer to the city. So there was this clash of cultures in this little suburban town. The same thing started to happen in Northmont when I was there in the late 90s. More people were migrating from North Main into the area, and was causing a degree of unease with the old farmer families.

I have family who live over on Sunnybrook. Its really quite strange how things are around that area. You have these little suburban zones, but if you drive 5 minutes away, you literally end up in sprawling farm fields. This is especially evident the further you head towards Westbrook Rd. Clayton (where I grew up), and to a lesser extent Englewood is a more modern example of the strange suburban sprawl. I remember cruising around the plattes where my friends lived in high school, not being able to tell one house from the other, and then heading out onto National Road for a couple of miles and entering a completely different era. Nothing but old Amish farmhosues and soybean fields that stretched over the horizon.

Sorry. When I saw people drinking Natural Light and Busch... I couldnt take it seriously. Then came the pictures of the Frat Boys. Honestly, if you want to drink good beer and get drunk, trying going to a good liquor store and buying a Belgian Tripel or Quadruppel. Generally 7-10%+ ABV and probably the best beer you'll drink in your entire life. You dont need to drink 30 to get a buzz either. Never understood that about some of my peers in college. They'd drink stuff that would make you gag, not knowing that decent stuff was generally 3 or 4 dollars more, but would give you a buzz twice as fast. If you are going to drink, at least drink intelligently. It is college after all.

Jeffrey Good that you took photographs of those Springfield Street houses. They tore the tan colored one down earlier in the week as I was coming home from work. Wish I had a camera with me. There is a family that lives next door that was outside just staring in disbelief at the rubble piled next to their house.

When you say "Little Boxes" it instantly brings to mind that area of housing by Woodman and Watervliet. Little perfectly square boxes. Ive never been in any of the houses before, but even as a kid it always struck me as odd that all their roofs were flat. Im sure there is some history to them.

I honestly cant remember when that market on the corner of Linden and 3rd was ever open. Has to have been over a decade. Theres a building directly across the street on the corner of 3rd and Springfield Street that has an incredible amount of history. Right now its being rented out cheaply and is in pretty bad shape, but looking through old Archive photos that I have, as well as some of the links you suggested, it was at one time a grocer and blacksmith. That little corridor was quite important in Dayton business history. One of the crossroads in East Dayton that led to a lot of different areas.

Thanks Jeff I just graduated from Wright State so I should still have priveleges there for at least a little while. Dayton Urban History is just a research hobby of mine.

Jeffrey Where do you find most of your maps? Some of those diagrams are simply amazing, and Id love to know where to view them. I know Wright State has a pretty extensive archive, but other than that Im pretty lost when it comes to local research.

I live in Huffman Historic District and they really are trying to make an effort to rehab quite a few of the houses in my neighborhood. The lady who lives across the street from me lives in a house that was once a burned out abandonment. The problem in my neighborhood is endemic crime. There is too much drug trafficking inspite of the gates they put up at the ends of the streets. If you look at the houses on Linden Avenue around 3rd, there is a serious amount of capital going into restoring some of them. However, it makes me sad to drive to work and see those very houses on Springfield Street that you posted. Ive watched them board up one by one. Although its funny that across the street is an old house transformed into a makeshift Christian organization. The book "Through the Camera’s Eye:The Photographs of Albert Kern" is great for showing an early 20th century photographic history of these areas.

They have started haphazardly along East 3rd street and the Huffman Industrial area. Quite a few houses have been torn down and destroyed. Problem is they are having an issue with Arson so they need to take them down as soon as possible.

I hope they never get rid of the Electric Trolley Busses, as its one of the hallmarks of Dayton. The Electric Trolley system is actually one of only five left in the country, and the longest-running of the five. As for streetcars, you can still see remnants of it in some parts of the city if you look hard enough. I was driving on Wyoming St. next to Woodland Cemetery over the weekend and noticed parts of the road had been eroded away during winter. You can clearly see remaining rail tracks from the streetcars underneath the torn asphalt. There are a number of old photos around of the Streetcars operating around the Watervliet, Wayne Ave, and Arbor St. junction. One used to go down the hill to Wyoming Street long long ago.