The nondescript but interesting building was originally part of Dayton’s early transit network, the streetcar running between Dayton and Oakwood.
The Oakwood Street Railway was incorporated on July 20 1870 by John H. Patterson, John W. Stoddard and others to join the two existing lines that traveled on Third Street and up to Dayton View.
In 1886 the railway’s carhouse on Brown Street near the Patterson Homestead) burned down.
A new carhouse was built at the corner of Brown and Fairground Streets and today’s building was constructed adjacent to it as a stable. (The cars were horse drawn until the first electric cars ran in 1888 and swiftly took over.) (Source DaytonTrolleys.net)
Both structures are visible in this 1897 map:
In 1912 the new carhouse would burn down as well, and its replacement would be built closer to the site of the first one and it remained in service until 1956. (Source: Oakwood’s public transportation 1870-1970’s)
This 1918 map shows the former stable being used as a garage with an empty lot that the carhouse used to occupy.
Back at the intersection of Brown and Fairground, the corner space was filled in in 1929 by the construction of an attractive new single-story building that would be the drug store of J. Elton Slade. Most recently this was the location of Second Time Around which has not reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source Dayton Through Time by Curt Dalton)
The former stable property at 1141 Brown had a variety of tenants in the ensuing decades. In the mid-1920s it was Finley’s Garage.
In 1932 it was being used as a pool and card room and an injunction was filed against the business. Two years after that it was a store owned by Sam Starry.
Later on it was used for car service again, and is labeled as an auto repair shop in a 1950 map. You can see the drug store on the corner too as well as a bowling alley on the other side.
The former stable building was the Rubicon Body Shop in the 1970s and the Frank Z Chevrolet/Truck service franchise in the 80s.
In the early 90s it was a University of Dayton maintenance building and also held a number of community meetings.
Update: A Dayton Vistas reader commented on Facebook to add some additional details: “It was used by the UD River Stewards/River Institute to store kayaks for a number of years (2006-2011+). There was a random office space/board room on the second floor that seemed out of place compared to the rest of the garage style space. The board room had large wood bookshelves and a big stately board room table. I believe there was a spiral staircase up to the board room.“
The latest transaction was a 2017 sale from the University of Dayton to BROWN AT STEWART INVESTMENTS LLC. Until recently it was advertised for lease as commercial space on Loopnet.com but is no longer an active listing.
Located on a popular, walkable stretch of Brown Street with a good mix of historic buildings and new construction, but close to where a suburban-style drive-through fast food restaurant was previously allowed, returning this historic structure to productive use would be a win for the area.
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