History of 2200 East Fifth St

A Dayton Vistas reader recently wrote in with a question about the history of the building at 2200 East Fifth St located across Columbus St from the old Carnegie Library which is currently the home of St. Mary Development Corporation.

I’ve covered a few other corner storefronts in Huffman and St. Anne’s Hill, and although this one is solely residential these days as a renovated triplex, its architecture and location immediately reveal a commercial past.

County records indicate that the building was constructed in 1875. Here’s how the area looked as of 1918:

Former residents of the property include Louis J and Florence Schwinn who lived there from at least 1911 into the 1930s. As of 1915 the building was also an “exchange station” for Krug movie tickets operated by Schwinn. At these stations, of which there was an extensive network around the city, Daytonians could save 15 labels or 7 coupons from Krug’s brand cakes or bread and exchange them for a 5 cent ticket at any of Dayton’s downtown or neighborhood movie theaters (DDN 6/21/1915).

Another resident of 2200 E Fifth as of 1928 was Leon Ketchal, who was arrested that year for practicing medicine without a license.

By 1934 the ground floor was a grocery store operated by Roland Berg, which came to be known as Berg’s.

Around 1940, it became known as Carter’s grocery, operated by Amos Hunter Carter for 15 years, before his illness and death in 1956.

In 1957 it was known as the Library Market, operated by Forest Stiers.

It appears that the property ceased to be a grocery in 1961, when all the contents and fixtures were put up for public auction. Those contents included some key Dayton companies, including 2 NCR cash registers, a Frigidaire “Deep Freeze” and a Hobart meat slicer and grinder (DDN 7/30/61).