I loved this neighborhood! Gotta be one of my favs in the city.

 

 

Ahh, Dayton's Short North. I'm pretty certain it's got the highest concentration of stuff out of any urban neighborhood there by a long shot.

In terms of architecture, no.

 

In terms of commercial space, sure.

 

Great job, Zack!

^Occupied commerical space, I would think. W-D probably has more space, but much of it is empty or occupied by non-exciting users.

 

Thanks for the pics.

Nice thread. Ditto what was said above.

Thanks. Beautiful houses.

I like the Oregon too but will not drive down through there to get home anymore as my poor car don't do so well on the brick road even at 25 MPG. So I usually have to turn just before the bridge (RR overpass) and then make my way to 4th and then Wayne and then 5th.

I had lunch in the Oregon District a few weeks ago, and it seemed like a pretty cool place.  The offerings of the stores and restaurants left a little to be desired though, imo. I saw there were like 3 sex shops in the span of two blocks, which I thought was weird in the middle of a business district with cafe's and bars.  Overall I was a little disappointed in the commercial aspect of the Oregon, but didn't make it to the residential portion, which looks charming.

The residential portion is the best part.  5th is pretty sad when you think this could have been the Short North of Dayton but is instead pretty lame. 

 

 

I had lunch in the Oregon District a few weeks ago, and it seemed like a pretty cool place.  The offerings of the stores and restaurants left a little to be desired though, imo. I saw there were like 3 sex shops in the span of two blocks, which I thought was weird in the middle of a business district with cafe's and bars.  Overall I was a little disappointed in the commercial aspect of the Oregon, but didn't make it to the residential portion, which looks charming.

 

That's part of the reason why I like the Oregon District and hope it doesn't become another Short North.  You get a Goodwill, three-ish sex shops, all types of bars, some nice-ish restaurants, an old fashion record store, an awesome bookstore, a pilates place, jazz club, wine & deli + the strangest assortment of folks you'll ever see.  If I were suburban I would think "eww" but thank God I'm not that!  I hope it retains the weirdness and "offsetting" features but I hope the city MARKETS it as that "alternative" place (which is Dayton's problem) along with the vacancies being taken up by other alt businesses.  I'm thinking more along the lines of Bardstown in Louisville (Short North is too damn pseudo-rich yuppie).

Had I been going in expecting Northside rather than Shorth North, I probably would have liked what I saw better.

And that's Dayton's problem, really (not yours).  The city needs to market that district more as an alternative to your typical Clifton/Hyde Park/Short North (aka Northside, which also needs better marketing).

I'm glad to see that this place has been fixed up:

 

When I was there in 2007, it looked like this:

 

 

 

 

Apparently it was an arson fire. The place appeared to have been gutted badly.

 

This one appears to have been let go; the landscaping is all out of control:

 

Here's how it looked in 2007.

 

Maybe it was lost to foreclosure.

The city needs to market that district more as an alternative to your typical Clifton/Hyde Park/Short North (aka Northside, which also needs better marketing).

 

Marketing works if there's a market to be tapped.  Which is questionable. Though the mix of retail/bars/restaurants changes over time there hasn't been much expansion of the offerings.  The most sucessfull additional offering so far has been the Dublin Pub.  Two of the restaurants that opened there in the 1990s have went bankrupt, and one closed.  So maybe this is as good as it's going to get given the demographics in Dayton.

 

I'm pretty certain it's got the highest concentration of stuff out of any urban neighborhood there by a long shot.

 

A Noahs Ark of old Dayton style.  Since at least one of each house type and buisness block has been preserved in the Oregon they can finish tearing down the rest of the city. 

 

 

Marketing works if there's a market to be tapped.  Which is questionable. Though the mix of retail/bars/restaurants changes over time there hasn't been much expansion of the offerings. 

 

Certainly there is a market to be tapped if Beavercreek, Miami Township, and Fairborn are "tapped."  It's the process of how to market it is the city's problem.  Case in point: downtown Flint.  And I'd argue the most successful isn't even on 5th...Coco's.

What's the deal with the double trolley wires shown in some photos? Is that a vestige of an electric trolley bus operation?

^Yeah, Dayton's got a full electric trolley bus system, the only major city in Ohio to still have it. Many of the lines extend pretty far out, to places even like the (ghetto) suburban former Salem Mall area.

 

We're lucky we have them. Good luck to Cincy and obtaining them in the future!!!!!

Heres a line entering a shopping center east of town

 

 

...they ended up having to buy buses from Skoda in the Czech Republic since they dont make them in the US anymore.  I think there are just 3 or 4 other cities in the US and Canada that have similar systems, but they are more common in Europe.

 

 

 

 

Fluffing an Oregon thread by yours truly...this is one of my favorite threads (by me) here at Urban Ohio: Speculations on the origins of a Dayton house type:

 

The Folk Process in Dayton's Oregon

Interesting... I know Cambridge, Philly, and Seattle have trolley busses, but I didn't know about Dayton.

San Francisco has them too.

Interesting... I know Cambridge, Philly, and Seattle have trolley busses, but I didn't know about Dayton.

 

Dayton's is the second oldest continually operating system in the nation, just behind Philly. The city almost lost them in 1990/1991, but they were ultimately preserved and expanded.

it's kind of a like a mini short north/german village combo. love the housing. the commercial parts are in a sense older than the short north's commercial stuff in that it was a popular nightlife area well before the short north was. and as noted the mix of businesses is quirky and interesting, which to me is a lot cooler than having a super top-notch or high-end this or that restaurant or retail that would draw in the crowds that would ruin the place. lets hope the od always keeps that kind of mix.

There are crowds there on weekends.  That energy is  what makes the place interesting at night, since the dance and music places are somewhat clustered together...

 

 

What's the deal with the double trolley wires shown in some photos? Is that a vestige of an electric trolley bus operation?

Click the photos to see more:

 

1991 - I went there to get photos because I thought shutdown was imminent:

 

Skodas in 2007:

What's the deal with the double trolley wires shown in some photos? Is that a vestige of an electric trolley bus operation?

Click the photos to see more:

 

1991 - I went there to get photos because I thought shutdown was imminent:

 

Skodas in 2007:

 

Rob, this is a prime example of why you're so valuable to UO.

Awww, Shucks!  :oops: