Grace United Methodist Church

Grace United Methodist Church at the corner of Harvard and Salem. This English Gothic church was built in 1921. Dayton View has been described as one of the city's earliest suburbs and this magnificent church building is one of Dayton's earliest suburban churches. Faced with limited seating capacity at their old building in downtown Dayton, the elders of Grace United Methodist Church purchased this property from Orville Wright and E.S. Lorenz in 1917. Dayton architects Schenk and Williams were commissioned to design the new building. The cornerstone was laid in 1919 and the first services were held two years later. The Sanctuary is loosely patterned after English Gothic church architecture and is constructed of Pennsylvania shale trimmed with Bedford limestone. The half-timbered Sunday School wing is reminiscent of Medieval Gothic architecture. Thirty-eight stained glass windows designed by the Rossback Art Glass Company of Columbus were installed in 1938.

Please turn your attention to the Pump House in the boulevard on Harvard and Salem. This interesting structure once served as a pump house for Dayton's early water system. Based on the similarity in design and building materials, it was probably built about the same time as the neighboring United Methodist Church. Today it provides a focal point for the entrance into the Dayton View Historic District. It’s a prime