Dayton lost a staggering amount of its historic architecture in the latter half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest casualties has been the “neighborhood business district,” once ubiquitous throughout town but today limited to only a couple of surviving examples. The most complete of these are East 5th Street in the Oregon District and West Third Street in Wright-Dunbar/Five Points/Wolf Creek.
Other relatively intact pockets survive however. One can be found on East Third Street in the Huffman neighborhood where numerous 19th century commercial buildings still stand.
A remaining landmark structure can be found at the prominent corner of East Third and Linden Ave, the Third and Linden Market Building.
Located at 1938 East Third Street, the structure was built in 1871. For a little over 15 years it operated as Noah Garlough’s grocery store which offered local produce, pantry items, and beer and wine. In 1889 a Charles Sigel bought the building and turned it into a barber shop where one could also buy tobacco and cigars.
After that the building became a grocery again and decades later would be called Esther’s Midnight Market, before being purchased by Jim and Dolores Madden who operated the Third and Linden Market into the 1990s. After that the building became a used record store for a period of time before falling vacant.
Another notable feature for many years was the mural painted by artist Samantha Williamson in 1980 which depicted an old-fashioned market scene on the Linden Ave side. It was touched up and restored by artist Bunny Arden-Boyd in 1991 who also added some lifelike painted figures on the rear wall. The murals have since been painted over.
The building has deteriorated in the years after it closed, but in 2017 it was purchased by a Huffman neighborhood group led by Tony Clark who is working hard to revitalize the area.
Progress on this structure hasn’t come quickly, but hopefully the developers will be able to save it from what otherwise surely be a slow and sad demise.
Sources:
“Market’s Artwork with Eyes Captures Gazes of Passersby”, John Bruning, Dayton Daily News, Nov. 6 1991.
The Spirit of Huffman: Tour of Historic Homes booklet
UrbanOhio Forum
https://www.bing.com/maps?q=1938+East+Third+Street+dayton+ohio&form=ANNTH1&refig=d29fc70caa864dccbe795722e561755a&sp=-1&ghc=1&pq=1938+east+third+street+dayton+ohio&sc=1-34&qs=n&sk=&cvid=d29fc70caa864dccbe795722e561755a
I use to live in that building at 3rd and Linden when I was a child, I’m not sure of when we move in,I must have been 4 or 5 and move out when I was 10 years old that was in 1965.i loved that building even as a child I knew I was living in a special place it was beautiful in it own way.i try and visit each time I come to Dayton,I’m so glad that it’s being preserved. Thank you so much,looking forward to what happens next.