The Last of NCR in Dayton: Repurposed Buildings That Still Stand

In my book Lost Dayton Ohio I have a detailed chapter outlining the early history of National Cash Register (NCR): its early years taking James Ritty’s invention to incredible heights; its physical footprint in Dayton and longstanding impact on the community; and ultimately its decline and departure from the Miami Valley.

Although no structures built during John H. Patterson’s lifetime survive to this day, there are a few buildings that were used by the company that still stand.

All of them are massive in size, and the fact that they were redeveloped for new uses (unlike the company’s main factory buildings which were demolished starting in the 1970s), is a win for preservation and Dayton’s adaptability for a new age.

This article will take a look at these few NCR survivors.

NCR Building 28 / Fitz Hall

Two of the surviving buildings are currently being used by the University of Dayton. What is now known as Fitz Hall was built by NCR as a factory building (Building 28) in 1951.

It’s the building on UD’s historic campus with the most square footage (560,000), with each floor containing more than an acre of space.

The building’s freight elevator “was designed to be large enough to transport machinery the size of a Volkswagen Beetle between floors.”

Originally called College Park Center, the current name is a reference to former president Brother Raymond Fitz, the university’s longest-serving leader (1979-2002).

NCR Building 31 / Cox Media Group Building

The structure currently occupied by Cox Media Group Ohio was previously NCR’s Building 31, built in 1955 as a warehouse.

The building was redeveloped from the ground up by Miller Valentine in a $11 million project and has since served as a “hub” housing a wide variety of media brands under the Cox umbrella, including the Dayton Daily News, WHIO-TV, local radio stations, and more.

NCR World Headquarters / University of Dayton Research Institute

The newest, and fanciest, remnant of NCR that still survives is the company’s former world headquarters at 1700 South Patterson Blvd.

The complex was built in 1980 and contains some 465,000 square feet of space.

When the company announced it was leaving Dayton for good in 2009, the fate of this key property was a major question mark. But in December of that year, UD bought it along with land totaling 115 acres for $18 million.

In our next article, we will look at other new developments, many also spearheaded by UD, on former NCR land.

Sources:

“Building on Tradition” UD Magazine, Spring 2019.