Dayton’s Webster Station neighborhood can boast a number of new construction projects in the last few years, and it also has many former industrial buildings that have been converted to new uses. Delco’s first two factory buildings are among the most prominent, but a structure that predates them by decades can be found on Keowee Street.
This is the Miami Elevator building, constructed around 1877. It was initially a grain storage facility and warehouse and in 1938 it became the home of the Gem City Elevator Works, which was founded in 1890. That company manufactured hand-powered and automatic elevators and it was still in business in 2007 when it was acquired by the Otis Elevator Co., the world’s largest elevator manufacturer, which has a local office at 321 S. Main St.
As of 2014, the building was owned by the Lesco Manufacturing Company. It’s a rare survivor on a stretch of Keowee Street that has changed radically over the years.
The building is visible in the background of this historic image of the northwest corner of First and Keowee. The corner building was Phillips Place, an old time roadhouse.
Works Cited
Dayton Through Time, Curt Dalton.
Historic image courtesy of the Dayton Metro Library
I believe there are Gem City Elevator cars still in place in the Commercial Building.