The Point in Old North Dayton: History and Future

Most of Dayton’s 19th century neighborhoods feature one or two historically prominent commercial streets. To the east and west of downtown, it’s primarily Third and Fifth, through neighborhoods like the Oregon District, St. Anne’s Hill/Huffman, and Wright Dunbar. To the north and south, we have some surviving commercial pockets on Main and Brown Streets, while to the southeast by South Park and Twin Towers there are Wayne and Xenia Ave. The status of these business districts today varies widely, and highway construction ringing downtown did significant damage to many of them.

An interesting case study is Old North Dayton, whose commercial center was known as “The Point” where Valley and Troy streets converge and form a V. Old North Dayton was a “cohesive neighborhood that established itself prior to 1900” and “resembled the Huffman neighborhood in that the area had a mix of homes, factories, retail, churches and schools making it a convenient walking area” (Dunham, Dayton in the 20th Century).

The Point business district was constructed between 1890 and 1920 and “once housed a wide variety of establishments including hardware stores, barber shops, and grocery stores.” Many of the businesses were owned by new European immigrants who settled in the neighborhood and helped cultivate its cohesive feel. “Germans had settled in the area during the last quarter of the 19th century. Eastern Europeans followed, principally Poles, Lithuanians, and Hungarians” (Who We Are, Old North Dayton).

The Point was heavily impacted by the construction of State Route 4 which cut it off from the rest of the neighborhood. As with most Dayton neighborhood business districts it declined in the second half of the 20th century.

As of the 1990s, the Old North Dayton Neighborhood Plan proposed “to create a major improvement area at ‘The Point,” where “improvements will include rehabilitation of retail/office space, new shared parking, and an additional open space improvement component” (Who We Are)

A couple of decades later, however, rehabbing the buildings had fallen out of the plan and they were demolished.

A webpage for CityWide Development explains that “The Point, the intersection of Valley and Keowee Street had become an area of blight with many large buildings in disrepair. Through the collaboration of the DaVinci investors, the buildings were acquired and demolished making way for a road realignment project and the expansion of Flood Memorial Park to create a greater connection to the Mad River Recreation Trail.”

The intersection of Valley and Keowee was reconfigured from a Y to a T shape, in order “to try to calm traffic and improve the pedestrian experience.” Neighborhood residents had previously said that “they would like improved visibility into park areas, better views of the river and downtown and better connections to the trails and the Mad River.”

Now some of the vacant land may see new structures again, but they will be residential instead of commercial. The City of Dayton hopes to spend some of its federal COVID relief aid on a $4 million project in partnership with development group Civitas to build 16 attached, single-family homes just west on Valley Street from the lost business district. The goal is to make the area a “major gateway area to North Dayton.”

Despite the many building losses, there are still several businesses calling The Point home in the ones that remain. Some take advantage of the area’s close connectivity to the river network, like Whitewater Warehouse, a paddlesports retail store at 104 Valley St. And just a couple of buildings down, Surf Dayton is expanding into 120 Valley St to provide a “hostel featuring a bar and eatery for surfers, cyclists and river enthusiasts.” That project’s timeline was derailed when a drunk driver struck the property in 2023, but is now back on track. (And the street reconfiguration and park and open space improvements create a much safer and better environment for outdoor activities.)

If you follow the two Old North Dayton commercial streets past the highway, Dayton Children’s construction has consumed a great deal of Valley St, but some surviving buildings like the American Czechoslovakian Club at 922 Valley and the Amber Rose restaurant (historically Sig’s general store) farther down at 1400 Valley hint at the area’s ethnic past.

And much of Troy St is still relatively intact, with numerous businesses including the popular Charlie’s Deli and Baker Benji’s (formerly Evan’s Bakery).

Thus any new residents of the area will get to enjoy the park improvements and have some neighborhood staples to visit, but it’s disappointing that so many of the buildings at The Point got to the point where rehabilitation was unfeasible.

Given the major lack of cohesive neighborhood commercial districts that survive in Dayton and the strong preference of multiple generations for vibrant, walkable neighborhoods, the interesting and varied architecture of the lost historic buildings could have complemented the river and parks and helped contribute to an even more special street experience for an urban neighborhood just a stone’s throw from downtown.

In an interview, Elinor Sluzas, who opened the Amber Rose in 1990, reflected on her experience shopping in the neighborhood as a child:

“Until I was twelve years old, I didn’t know that there was a downtown … Old North Dayton was Dayton, Ohio. I mean, we had everything we needed. We had grocery stores galore. We had a dime store. We had dry goods stores. We had a three-floor department store. Had a theater. We had ice cream shops, beauty shops, undertaker, doctors, dentists. There was probably a brothel or two somewhere. But I didn’t know of those things – I didn’t know there was such a thing. It was wonderful to grow up here. I used to love to go up and down Troy Street and Valley Street with my grandmother early Saturday morning. And she never had a shopping bag; she always had a grocery basket and she’d put her eggs in there and she’d get this and she’d get that. And it was great fun!”