On this date in 1900, the above picture was taken looking north from the corner of Fifth and Huffman Streets. The surrounding neighborhood is among the oldest in Dayton, and it picked up in development in the late 1800s largely due to its location on the streetcar line. For decades Huffman was a bustling, self-sufficient neighborhood containing diverse businesses, industry, and a mix of residents from many social classes.
As you can see from the contemporary Streetview image, the corner store and two houses in the foreground still survive today.
This stretch of E Fifth St. has fallen on hard times in more recent years, although newly fixed up homes in the Huffman neighborhood have long been a common sight and a few popular new businesses have recently opened just a bit farther west.
Hopefully the coming years will see that redevelopment push continue to spread eastward and give this intersection a boost.
Photo credit: Dayton Metro Library
I really enjoy the pictures of “then and now”. I kept going back and forth between pictures.