Downtown Dayton Walking Tour

Entries on This Tour

Grant-Deneau Tower is a New Formalist and Miesian style building constructed by developers Richard Grant and Paul Deneau in 1969. At the time, it was Dayton’s tallest skyscraper and first modern office tower. Its lobby enclosure was completed in 1979. Because it was built as part of an effort to revitalize downtown Dayton, the Grant-Deneau Tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016 despite the customary fifty-year age minimum for historic sites.

2. Old Court House

The Old Court House building is one of Dayton's treasured landmarks. It was built in 1847 in the Greek Revival style and as such is the recognized as one of the country's best examples of this style of architecture. Several presidents have campaigned here including Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. It has been an important focal point for the city, being the location where residents learned about updates during the Civil War (via the telegraph), and during WWII, where bond drives took place. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building can be rented for private events.

3. Abraham Lincoln Statue (Dayton)

This statue of Abraham Lincoln, sculpted by artist Mike Major, commemorates the speech Lincoln gave near the Old Court House (then only nine years old) on September 17, 1859. The eleven-foot-tall statue stands on a four-foot base and weighs about 1,300 pounds. It was commissioned by the Lincoln Society of Dayton, which raised funds for the bronze statue to be waxed and buffed at least once a year. Major has said that he hopes his statue portrays the “strength, intelligence, control, and perhaps humility and attentiveness” of President Lincoln.

4. Dayton Arcade

Built in 1902, the Dayton Arcade is a historic complex of five connected buildings. It is perhaps best known for its ornate facade, which exhibits Renaissance Revival and Dutch architecture and many interesting elements such as oak leaves, ram heads, and garlands of grain. The arcade is also known for its central enclave that is topped by a 90-foot diameter glass dome. It was designed by architect Frank M. Andrews, who designed other buildings in the city. The idea for the arcade originated with Eugene J. Barney of the Barney & Smith Car Company, a railroad company based in Dayton. When it opened, the arcade, was state-of-the-art, featuring a cold storage plant, elevators, and its own power plant. The upper floors were used for housing, office and retail space, and the larger spaces were used for a farmer's market. As of July 2018, plans are in the works to revive the arcade, led by a partnership of three developers. They plan to offer a mix of housing, retail, and public space. An innovation center and a culinary kitchen incubator program will be included as well.

5. Great Dayton Flood Historic Marker

This small plaque on the side of the Edwin Smith House in downtown Dayton commemorates the Great Flood of 1913 and illustrates the extent of the flooding in the downtown area. The Great Dayton Flood began on March 21 in 1913, two days before Easter, as late winter storms produced high winds and heavy rains in the area. By Sunday, the soil had become so saturated that it could not absorb more water, caused a 90-percent runoff into the Great Miami River as well as the headwaters of Scioto River and the Muskingum River. Near 8 to 11 inches of rain fell before Monday, March 24th, and by the next day, the levees failed and about 20 feet of water flooded throughout Downtown Dayton, causing 360 deaths, 20,000 destroyed homes, 65,000 displaced people, and over $100 million in property damage (equivalent to almost $2.4 billion in 2015). The aftermath of the devastation led to the creation of the Miami Conservancy District, one of the first flood control districts that would later serve as a model for Indiana, New Mexico, Colorado, and other states.

6. Liberty Tower (Mutual Home and Savings Association Building)

Liberty Tower was originally constructed as the Mutual Home and Savings Association Building in 1931. It was designed to appear modern and professional, with touches such as marble, steel, and some of the latest technology. At 285 feet tall, the building was the tallest in Dayton until 1969. Though it has changed hands and even names since its erection, Liberty Tower still stands as an office space today.

7. Dayton International Peace Museum

Founded in 2004 by four local peace activists, the Dayton International Peace Museum is dedicated to promoting peace in the nation and around the world. To this end, the museum offers a variety of programs and exhibits to educate people about the efficacy and practice of nonviolence. It also serves as a gathering place for peace-related activities. The museum is located in the historic Isaac Pollack House, which was built in 1876.

8. The Biltmore Hotel

The Biltmore Hotel was constructed on the eve of the Great Depression in 1929. It was designed by architect Frederick Hughes in the Second Renaissance Revival style. Though its splendor has long since faded, it remains one of the tallest buildings in Dayton and was considered one of the finest hotels in America. It hosted some of the nation’s most famous celebrities from John F. Kennedy to Elvis Presley. Today, it is home to 230 apartments for senior citizens.

9. Victoria Theatre

The Victoria Theatre dates back to 1866 when it opened as the Turner Opera House. The theater was rebuilt twice following destructive fires in 1896 and 1918. When the theater reopened in 1919, it was renamed the Victory Theatre in honor of World War I veterans. The Victory operated as a movie theater until it closed in 1970s. Although the Victoria could not compete with the suburban multiplexes, local preservationists saw its potential and worked to prevent its demolition. Thanks to these efforts, the theater was restored in the 1980s and reopened as the Victoria Theater in 1989 as a live performance venue. The theater also shows films on special occasions, including the “Cool Movie Series” in the summers.

10. Bimm Fireproof Warehouse

Bimm Fireproof Warehouse is the oldest standing multi-story storage warehouse in Dayton. It was completed in 1912 and opened two years later. Henry Bimm, who owned the building along with his brother Joseph, retired in 1916. Afterward, they sold the warehouse to Lincoln Fireproof Storage Company of Dayton, which still owns it today. The Bimm Fireproof Warehouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 18, 2016.

11. The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center

Opened in December 2017, the Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center is dedicated to honoring the legacy funk music has played in American culture. It is located in Dayton because this is where the genre originated and where many of Funk's top acts came from, including the Ohio Players, Heatwave, and Slave. The museum features many Funk-related artifacts and memorabilia including outfits and instruments. The museum plans to continue to grow its collection, operate a performance venue, and offer educational outreach programs. An important goal is to teach children how to play instruments and instill in them a love of music and the arts.

12. The Neon Movies

The Neon Movies, originally named the Dayton Movies, was built in 1986. It was the first theater to be built in downtown Dayton since 1922 and was the first downtown theater built in a major U. S. city in over twenty years. The Dayton Movies closed in 1988, but it reopened just a day later as the Neon Movies. Since then, the theater has changed ownership multiple times and has been renamed the New Neon Movies. The theater attracted national attention on two occasions: once in 1996 when it was fitted with Cinerama technology, and again when actress Allison Janney, a Dayton native, tweeted about it after winning an Oscar for her role in “I, Tonya.”

13. America's Packard Museum

Housed in a restored Packard car dealership, America's Packard Museum is a must-see destination for car enthusiasts. It is the only Packard museum located in a restored Packard dealership. The museum features 50 Packard vehicles and numerous artifacts, making it the largest collection of its kind in the world. It is an affiliate member of the Packard Club and was bestowed the prestigious James J. Bradley Award by the Society of Automotive Historians for its efforts to preserve the legacy of the Packard Motor Car Company. The museum was founded in 1992 by local attorney and car collector, Bob Signom. Among the Packards on display is the 1942 Clipper used by General Douglass MacArthur.

14. 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

15. Cohn House

This Tudor Revival style house was built in the 1930s for Harry E. Cohn. Cohn was vice president and sales manager for the S.J. Patterson Company, a wholesale coal dealer. Houses like this are sometimes referred to as English cottages. This description is not totally inaccurate since Tudor Revival designs are generally based on a variety of early English building traditions ranging from rural folk houses to urban palaces. Tudor Revival houses built during the 1920s and 30s became increasingly more picturesque. They frequently blend comfortably into wooded settings and are also characterized by asymmetrical massing and steeply pitched roofs with one or more cross gables. They also feature casement windows, sometimes in multiples of two or more with multi-pane glazing and massive chimneys often crowned with chimney pots.The Cohn house, with all of these features, is an excellent example of the style. The stucco walls of the house are relatively uncommon on Tudor houses. The Cohn house consists of twelve rooms with three fireplaces. The kitchen was once featured in Better Homes and Gardens.

16. Tudor style home at 1140 Harvard

Tudor style Home. They symbolize the formality and symmetry of early examples of the style in contrast to the more picturesque Tudors of the late 1920s and ‘30s.

17. Tudar Home 1160 Harvard

The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture in England and Wales, during the Tudor period (1485–1603) and even beyond, and also the tentative introduction of Renaissance architecture to Britain. It followed the Late Gothic Perpendicular style and, gradually, it evolved into an aesthetic more consistent with trends already in motion on the continent, evidenced by other nations already having the Northern Renaissance underway Italy, and especially France already well into its revolution in art, architecture, and thought. A subtype of Tudor architecture is Elizabethan architecture, from about 1560 to 1600, which has continuity with the subsequent Jacobean architecture in the early Stuart period.In the much more slow-moving styles of vernacular architecture, "Tudor" has become a designation for half-timbered buildings, although there are cruck and frame houses with half timbering that considerably predate 1485 and others well after 1603; an expert examination is required to determine the building's age. In many regions stone architecture, which presents no exposed timber on the facade, was the norm for good houses, while everywhere the poorest lived in single-storey houses using wood frames and wattle and daub, too flimsy for any to have survived four centuries. In this form the Tudor style long retained its hold on English taste.[1] Nevertheless, "Tudor style" is an awkward style-designation, with its implied suggestions of continuity through the period of the Tudor dynasty and the misleading impression that there was a style break at the accession of James I in 1603, first of the House of Stuart. A better diagnostic is the "perpendicular" arrangement of rectangular vertically oriented leaded windows framed by structural transoms and mullions and often featuring a "hooded" surround usually in stone or timber such as oak.The low multi-centred Tudor arch was another defining feature and the period sees the first introduction of brick architecture imported from the Low Countries. Some of the most remarkable oriel windows belong to this period.[1] Mouldings are more spread out and the foliage becomes more naturalistic. During the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, many Italian artists arrived in England; their decorative features can be seen at Hampton Court Palace, Layer Marney Tower, Sutton Place, and elsewhere. However, in the following reign of Elizabeth I, the influence of Northern Mannerism, mainly derived from books, was greater. Courtiers and other wealthy Elizabethans competed to build prodigy houses that proclaimed their status.The Dissolution of the Monasteries redistributed large amounts of land to the wealthy, resulting in a secular building boom, as well as a source of stone.[2] The building of churches had already slowed somewhat before the English Reformation, after a great boom in the previous century, but was brought to a nearly complete stop by the Reformation. Civic and university buildings became steadily more numerous in the period, which saw general increasing prosperity. Brick was something of an exotic and expensive rarity at the beginning of the period, but during it became very widely used in many parts of England, even for modest buildings, gradually restricting traditional methods such as wood framed, daub and wattle and half-timbering to the lower classes by the end of the period.Scotland was a different country throughout the period, and is not covered here, but early Renaissance architecture in Scotland was influenced by close contacts between the French and Scottish courts, and there are a number of buildings from before 1560 that show a more thorough adoption of continental Renaissance styles than their English equivalents.

18. Amherst Terrace - 1000 Amherst

The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style.[1] It is named after King James VI and I, with whose reign (1603–1625 in England) it is associated. At the start of James' reign there was little stylistic break in architecture, as Elizabethan trends continued their development. However, his death in 1625 came as a decisive change towards more classical architecture, with Italian influence, was in progress, led by Inigo Jones; the style this began is sometimes called Stuart architecture, or English Baroque (though the latter term may be regarded as starting later).Courtiers continued to build large prodigy houses, even though James spent less time on summer progresses round his realm than Elizabeth had. The influence of Flemish and German Northern Mannerism increased, now often executed by immigrant craftsmen and artists, rather than obtained from books as in the previous reign. There continued to be very little building of new churches, though a considerable amount of modifications to old ones, but a great deal of secular building.

19. Herman Miller House

20. Traxler Mansion

Châteauesque (or Francis I style,[1] or in Canada, the Château Style[2]) is a Revivalist architectural style based on the French Renaissance architecture of the monumental châteaux of the Loire Valley from the late fifteenth century to the early seventeenth century.The term châteauesque (literally, "château-like") is credited (by historian Marcus Whiffen) to American architectural historian Bainbridge Bunting,[1] although it can be found in publications that pre-date Bunting's birth. As of 2011, the Getty Research Institute's Art & Architecture Thesaurus includes both "Château Style" and "Châteauesque", with the former being the preferred term for North America.The style frequently features buildings heavily ornamented by the elaborate towers, spires, and steeply-pitched roofs of sixteenth century châteaux, themselves influenced by late Gothic and Italian Renaissance architecture. Despite their French ornamentation, as a revival style, buildings in the châteauesque style do not attempt to completely emulate a French château. Châteauesque buildings are typically built on an asymmetrical plan, with a roof-line broken in several places and a facade composed of advancing and receding planes.

21. 58 Cambridge

The architecture of Switzerland was influenced by its location astride major trade routes, along with diverse architectural traditions of the four national languages. Romans and later Italians brought their monumental and vernacular architecture north over the Alps, meeting the Germanic and German styles coming south and French influences coming east. Additionally, Swiss mercenary service brought architectural elements from other lands back to Switzerland. All the major styles including ancient Roman, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Modern architecture and Post Modern are well represented throughout the country. The founding of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne in La Sarraz and the work of Swiss-born modern architects such as Le Corbusier helped spread Modern architecture throughout the world.The relative isolation of villages in the Alpine foothills, the Alps and the Jura mountains as well as different languages led to great diversity in the vernacular style. Due to differing traditions, climate and building materials, villages in each region are distinctly different. The Swiss chalet style, which was popular in the 19th century represents only one of a number of traditional designs. Today, due to historic preservation laws and tourism, large and small communities have retained many of their historic core buildings. Since 1972 the Swiss Heritage Society has awarded the Wakker Prize to encourage communities to preserve their architectural heritage.

22. Georgian Revival - 107 Lexington

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, George III, and George IV—who reigned in continuous succession from August 1714 to June 1830. The so-called great Georgian cities of the British Isles were Edinburgh, Bath, pre-independence Dublin, and London, and to a lesser extent York and Bristol.[1] The style was revived in the late 19th century in the United States as Colonial Revival architecture and in the early 20th century in Great Britain as Neo-Georgian architecture; in both it is also called Georgian Revival architecture. In the United States the term Georgian is generally used to describe all buildings from the period, regardless of style; in Britain it is generally restricted to buildings that are "architectural in intention",[2] and have stylistic characteristics that are typical of the period, though that covers a wide range.The Georgian style is highly variable, but marked by symmetry and proportion based on the classical architecture of Greece and Rome, as revived in Renaissance architecture. Ornament is also normally in the classical tradition, but typically restrained, and sometimes almost completely absent on the exterior. The period brought the vocabulary of classical architecture to smaller and more modest buildings than had been the case before, replacing English vernacular architecture (or becoming the new vernacular style) for almost all new middle-class homes and public buildings by the end of the period.Georgian architecture is characterized by its proportion and balance; simple mathematical ratios were used to determine the height of a window in relation to its width or the shape of a room as a double cube. Regularity, as with ashlar (uniformly cut) stonework, was strongly approved, imbuing symmetry and adherence to classical rules: the lack of symmetry, where Georgian additions were added to earlier structures remaining visible, was deeply felt as a flaw, at least before John Nash began to introduce it in a variety of styles.[3] Regularity of housefronts along a street was a desirable feature of Georgian town planning. Until the start of the Gothic Revival in the early 19th century, Georgian designs usually lay within the Classical orders of architecture and employed a decorative vocabulary derived from ancient Rome or Greece.

23. 104 Lexington - Colonial Revival home

The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture.The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the architectural traditions of their colonial past.[1] Fairly small numbers of Colonial Revival homes were built c. 1880–1910, a period when Queen Anne-style architecture was dominant in the United States.[2] From 1910–1930, the Colonial Revival movement was ascendant, with about 40% of U.S. homes built during this period in the Colonial Revival style.[3] In the immediate post-war period (c. 1950s–early 1960s), Colonial Revival homes continued to be constructed, but in simplified form. In the present-day, many New Traditional homes draw from Colonial Revival styles.[4]While the dominant influences in Colonial Revival style are Georgian and Federal architecture, Colonial Revival homes also draw, to a lesser extent, from the Dutch Colonial style and post-medieval English styles. Colonial Revival homes are often eclectic in style, freely combining aspects from several of these prototypes.[5]Although associated with the architectural movement, "Colonial Revival" also refers to historic preservation, landscape architecture and garden design, and decorative arts movements that emulate or draw inspiration from colonial forms.[6]Cyril M. Harris's American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia noted that "Colonial Revival houses are usually the result of a rather free interpretation of their prototypes; they tend to be larger, may differ significantly from the houses they seek to emulate, and often exaggerate architectural details."[7]

24. Prairie-style - 741-43 Superior Avenue

Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the wide, flat, treeless expanses of America's native prairie landscape.The Prairie School was an attempt at developing an indigenous North American style of architecture in sympathy with the ideals and design aesthetics of the Arts and Crafts Movement, with which it shared an embrace of handcrafting and craftsman guilds as an antidote to the dehumanizing effects of mass production.

25. Schachne House

Neo-eclectic architecture is a name for an architectural style that has influenced residential building construction in North America in the latter part of the 20th century and early part of the 21st. It is a contemporary version of Revivalism that has perennially occurred since Neoclassical architecture developed in the mid 18th century.In contrast to the occasionally faux and low-budget Neo-Eclectic detached homesteads, the term New Classical architecture identifies contemporary buildings that stick to the basic ideals, proportions, materials and craftsmanship of traditional architecture.The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California. It is sometimes termed California Mission Revival, particularly when used elsewhere, such as in New Mexico and Texas which have their own unique regional architectural styles. In Australia, the style is known as Spanish Mission.[1]The Mission Revival movement was most popular between 1890 and 1915, in numerous residential, commercial and institutional structures, particularly schools and railroad depots.[2]

26. Wilcox house

The Eastlake movement was a nineteenth-century architectural and household design reform movement started by British architect and writer Charles Eastlake (1836–1906). The movement is generally considered part of the late Victorian period in terms of broad antique furniture designations. In architecture the Eastlake style or Eastlake architecture is part of the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture.Eastlake's book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details posited that furniture and decor in people's homes should be made by hand or machine workers who took personal pride in their work. Manufacturers in the United States used the drawings and ideas in the book to create mass-produced Eastlake Style or Cottage furniture.The geometric ornaments, spindles, low relief carvings, and incised lines were designed to be affordable and easy to clean;[1] nevertheless, many of the designs which resulted are artistically complex.Although Charles Eastlake did not make furniture, his movement influenced the interior design of American homes with English designs that were easy to clean, functional, and simple. The ‘Eastlake’ style is of Victorian architecture and one of the core principles of this style was that Eastlake thought that the furniture in people's homes should be good looking and be made by manufacturers who enjoyed their work.[1] This was contrary to the previous style of furniture, with pieces that were large, heavy, and thick, and that collected dust and germs.[2]

27. Neoclassical home - 563 Superior

Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world.[1] The prevailing styles of architecture in most of Europe for the previous two centuries, Renaissance architecture and Baroque architecture, already represented partial revivals of the Classical architecture of ancient Rome and ancient Greek architecture, but the Neoclassical movement aimed to strip away the excesses of Late Baroque and return to a purer and more authentic classical style, adapted to modern purposes.The development of archaeology and published accurate records of surviving classical buildings was crucial in the emergence of Neoclassical architecture. In many countries, there was an initial wave essentially drawing on Roman architecture, followed, from about the start of the 19th century, by a second wave of Greek Revival architecture. This followed increased understanding of Greek survivals. As the 19th century continued, the style tended to lose its original rather austere purity in variants like the French Empire style. The term "neoclassical" is often used very loosely for any building using some of the classical architectural vocabulary.In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall rather than chiaroscuro and maintains separate identities to each of its parts. The style is manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulae as an outgrowth of some classicizing features of the Late Baroque architectural tradition. Therefore, the style is defined by symmetry, simple geometry, and social demands instead of ornament.[2] In the 21st century, a version of the style continues, sometimes called New Classical architecture or New Classicism.

28. The Cox House

Queen Anne style architecture was one of a number of popular Victorian architectural styles that emerged in the United States during the period from roughly 1880 to 1910.[2] Popular there during this time, it followed the Second Empire and Stick styles and preceded the Richardsonian Romanesque and Shingle styles. Sub-movements of Queen Anne include the Eastlake movement.The style bears almost no relationship to the original Queen Anne style architecture in Britain (a toned-down version of English Baroque that was used mostly for gentry houses) which appeared during the time of Queen Anne, who reigned from 1702 to 1714, nor of Queen Anne Revival (which appeared in the latter 19th century there).The American style covers a wide range of picturesque buildings with "free Renaissance" (non-Gothic Revival) details, rather than being a specific formulaic style in its own right.The term "Queen Anne", as an alternative both to the French-derived Second Empire style and the less "domestic" Beaux-Arts style, is broadly applied to architecture, furniture and decorative arts of the period from 1880 to 1910. Some Queen Anne architectural elements, such as the wrap-around front porch, continued to be found into the 1920s.

29. Colonial Revival - 936 Grand Avenue

American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch Colonial, and Georgian.[1] These styles are associated with the houses, churches and government buildings of the period from about 1600 through the 19th century.Several relatively distinct regional styles of colonial architecture are recognized in the United States. Building styles in the 13 colonies were influenced by techniques and styles from England, as well as traditions brought by settlers from other parts of Europe. In New England, 17th-century colonial houses were built primarily from wood, following styles found in the southeastern counties of England. Saltbox style homes and Cape Cod style homes were some of the simplest of homes constructed in the New England colonies. The Saltbox homes known for their steep roof among the back the house made for easy construction among colonists.[2] The Cape Cod style homes were a common home in the early 17th of New England colonists, these homes featured a simple, rectangular shape commonly used by colonists.[3] Dutch Colonial structures, built primarily in the Hudson River Valley, Long Island, and northern New Jersey, reflected construction styles from Holland and Flanders and used stone and brick more extensively than buildings in New England. In Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, a style called "Southern Colonial" is recognized, characterized by the hall and parlor and central-passage house types, which often had large chimneys projecting from the gable-ends of the house. In the Delaware Valley, Swedish colonial settlers introduced the log cabin to America. A style sometimes called Pennsylvania colonial appeared later (after 1681) and incorporates Georgian architectural influences. A Pennsylvania Dutch style is recognized in parts of southeastern Pennsylvania that were settled by German immigrants in the 18th century.[4]Early buildings in some other areas of the United States reflect the architectural traditions of the colonial powers that controlled these regions. The architectural style of Louisiana is identified as French colonial, while the Spanish colonial style evokes Renaissance and Baroque styles of Spain and Mexico; in the United States it is found in Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and California.[4]

30. Layman House

The American Foursquare or American Four Square (American 4 Square) is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was plain, often incorporating handcrafted "honest" woodwork (unless purchased from a mail-order catalog). This style incorporates elements of the Prairie School and the Craftsman styles. It is also sometimes called Transitional Period.The hallmarks of the style include a basically square, boxy design, two-and-one-half stories high, usually with four large, boxy rooms to a floor (with the exception of the attic floor, which typically has only one or two rooms), a center dormer, and a large front porch with wide stairs. The boxy shape provides a maximum amount of interior room space, to use a small city lot to best advantage. Other common features included a hipped roof, arched entries between common rooms, built-in cabinetry, and Craftsman-style woodwork.A typical design would be as follows: first floor, from front to back, on one side, the living room and dining room; while on the other side, the entry room or foyer, stairway and kitchen. Sometimes a bathroom was also included. Second floor, front to back, on one side, bedroom, bathroom and bedroom; while on the other side, bedroom, stairway and bedroom. The upstairs bathroom would generally be placed above the kitchen, so that the plumbing could run directly from one to the other. The bedrooms had a slightly longer dimension along the front and back of the house with side-by-side closets between the bedrooms. This gave a very efficient layout, with a bedroom in each corner and a centralized bathroom and stairway. The top floor was generally just a big open space with one to four dormers, essentially an attic, whether finished into living space or not. The basement generally contained a large natural convection furnace or boiler, exhausting to a chimney running upwards through the center of the house, which also provided exhaust for the stove.

31. The Pump House

Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial Revival", a subtype of the Colonial Revival style.Remnants of colonial Dutch influence, such as the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow from 1697, became the basis of revivalist styling.The modern use of the term is to indicate a broad gambrel roof with flaring eaves that extend over the long sides, resembling a barn in construction.[1] The early houses built by settlers were often a single room, with additions added to either end (or short side) and very often a porch along both long sides. Typically, walls were made of stone and a chimney was located on one or both ends. Common were double-hung sash windows with outward swinging wood shutters and a central double Dutch door.Settlers of the Dutch colonies in New York, Delaware, New Jersey, and western Connecticut built these homes in ways familiar to the regions of Europe from which they came, like the Low Countries, the Palatine parts of Germany, and Huguenot regions of France.[2] Used for its modern meaning of "gambrel-roofed house", the term does not reflect the fact that housing styles in Dutch-founded communities in New York evolved over time. In the Hudson Valley, for example, the use of brick, or brick and stone is perhaps more characteristic of Dutch Colonial houses than is their use of a gambrel roof. In Albany and Ulster Counties, frame houses were almost unknown before 1776, while in Dutchess and Westchester Counties, the presence of a greater proportion of settlers with English roots popularised more construction of wood-frame houses.[3]: 22 After a period of log cabin and bank-dugout construction, the use of the inverted "V" roof shape was common. The gambrel roof was used later, predominantly between 1725 and 1775, although examples can be found from as early as 1705.[3]: 23 The general rule before 1776 was to build houses that were only one-and-a-half stories high, except in Albany, where there were a greater proportion of two-story houses. Fine examples of these houses can be found today, like those in the Huguenot Street Historic District of New Paltz, New York.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Downtown Dayton Walking Tour

Created by Brad Bailosky on October 23rd 2023, 9:00:30 pm.

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Description

This tour begins at the Grant-Deneau Tower and Old Court House and includes a variety of landmarks, museums, and monuments. The tour includes a historical marker commemorating the Great 1913 Flood and with the Biltmore Hotel, Victoria Theater, a historic warehouse building, the Funk Music Hall of Fame, and the Packard Museum. Stops in between include the Dayton Arcade, Liberty Tower, and the Dayton International Peace Museum.

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Downtown Dayton Walking Tour

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