• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Dayton Vistas

A Look at the Past, Present, and Future of the Gem City

Connect with Dayton Vistas

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Hire Me
  • Categories
    • Historical Dayton
    • New Developments
    • Dayton Culture
  • Article Archives
  • Catalog of Historic Dayton Buildings
  • My Dayton Book

West First Street – Dayton’s Old Park Avenue

January 16, 2025 By Andrew Walsh 2 Comments


The story of Downtown Dayton from the 19th century through the first half of the 20th largely involves the transition from homes to office buildings and other larger structures. Then in the 1950s and 60s still more were removed for parking and some whole areas were cleared in the name of urban renewal. These trends were especially notable west of Main Street, which was historically a strong residential area.

I’ve written before about some of these beautiful old houses including those that stood on Robert Boulevard as well as Fourth and Third streets.

But today we’ll look at West First Street, where there once stood a concentration of some of the finest homes in the city.

In fact, one Journal Herald article said that the street was “Once Dayton’s ‘Park Avenue”:

“Back in the 1880s and for a while preceding and after, if you wished to impress someone you said “I called on Mrs. E. of West First Street. It was the nucleus of the leading residential section in those days.”

By the time this nostalgic article was published in 1951, the prominent homes had already been knocked down and replaced.

At the SW corner of First and Ludlow was a beautiful residence built by Horatio Gates Phillips in 1846. It was removed for the construction of the first phase of the Talbott Tower in 1938.

It was well-known around Dayton as the J. D. Phillips home. Before it was razed, noted artist David Payne was in Dayton, and “said it was the loveliest house in Dayton, made record of it in water colors, and gave the picture to the Dayton Art Institute.” Payne pled that the home be saved, but to no avail.

Across the street at the SE corner of First and Ludlow stood the home of H. C. Graves “who owned some fine hunting dogs … which howled on Sunday morning when the church bells rang.”

The home and those surrounding it were demolished on March 1927 for the Van Cleve Hotel which was was built on the site.

The hotel was itself razed in 1969 after an attempt to convert it to apartments failed, and although the plan was to rebuild something on the site right next door to Christ Episcopal Church, it is still a surface parking lot today.

Moving over to the SW corner of First and Main, we see another beautiful residence, the Ebenezer Thresher home:

Thresher was a Baptist minister and prominent manufacturer who owned the Thresher Paint Co and helped form the railroad car company that became Barney and Smith.

The final home recounted in the article was the brick residence of Robert Steele on the NE corner 1st and Ludlow.

Another of Dayton’s most distinguished residents in its early years, Steele was a “businessman, headed many forward-looking city projects, and loved books, trees, and flowers.”

An anecdote from the article sums up a sentiment that could apply for many a home that once stood in downtown Dayton:

“It is said that not long before his death he looked out from his residence at West First Street and exclaimed he should like to come back years after his demise to see how beautiful Dayton remained.

How startled he would be to see a parking lot where his tree-surrounded, vine-covered residence had once stood.”

Related Posts:

  • dayton robert boulevard
    Sinclair Helps Bring Back Lost Park Feel in Former…
  • Then and Now: Urban Renewal at 3rd St and Wilkinson
    Then and Now: Urban Renewal at 3rd St and Wilkinson
  • old fourth and perry dayton
    Then and Now: Downtown Homes Long Demolished at 4th…
  • haymarket map urban renewal
    Did Urban Renewal Work in Dayton? A Status Report from 1969
Enjoying Dayton Vistas?
Take a look at Andrew's book Lost Dayton, Ohio. You can also subscribe to our newsletter for periodic updates of new articles.

Filed Under: Historical Dayton Tagged With: Christ Episcopal Church, Demolition, Downtown, Ebenezer Thresher, Historic Homes, Horatio Gates Phillips, Mansions, Van Cleve Hotel

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jessi says

    January 28, 2025 at 2:32 pm

    I had no idea – these were gorgeous. Thanks for the information and photos! I wonder how much damage the flood did to the residences.

    Reply
    • Andrew Walsh says

      February 26, 2025 at 4:37 pm

      They really were! You’re very welcome. I would suspect quite a bit; I’ve seen photos of how wrecked Steele HS was which was right around here at 1st and Main. And the residences on Robert Boulevard to the west were also damaged significantly. One of the worst effects of the flood on downtown residential, however, was that it made many of Dayton’s wealthy move away to higher ground in emerging suburbs of the time, which hurt many downtown businesses.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Andrew Walsh Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search the Dayton Vistas Archives

My book explores a diverse selection of retail, industrial, entertainment and residential sites from Dayton's disappearing legacy.
Read More

About Dayton Vistas

I'm Andrew Walsh, a writer and academic librarian. I research Dayton history, architecture, preservation, and urban redevelopment.

Read More

Get New Posts via Email


Latest Posts

historic view of east side of main street, downtown dayton

Urban Renewal and Lost Buildings at Main and 3rd

heritage coffeeshop university of dayton built 1903

Lesser-Known Historic Buildings of the University of Dayton

dayton masonic temple

Masonic Temple (Dayton Masonic Center) History

dayton commercial building during construction 1900s

The Commercial Building: Before and During Construction

deneau tower views

The Deneau Tower: History and Redevelopment

st. joseph hall rear university of dayton

Historic Buildings on the University of Dayton Campus

Browse Historic Dayton

newcom tavern daytonA Catalog of Historic Dayton Buildings (with years, pics, type, area, status, etc.)

Recent Comments

  • Mollie Hauser on The Last Old Buildings on the West Side of Downtown
  • William "Rusty" Pietrzak on The Diner on St. Clair: a History and an Uncertain Future
  • Laura J Merrell on Historic Buildings on the University of Dayton Campus
  • Накрутка мобильными on Lost Commercial Buildings at Main and Franklin

Articles By Topic

Architecture Banking Brown Street Churches Commercial Building Dayton Arcade Dayton Daily News Delco Demolition Downtown East Dayton Features Fidelity Building Fire Blocks District Great Flood of 1913 Haymarket Historic Homes House Histories Huffman Industrial Buildings John H Patterson NCR Old Dayton Maps Oregon District Paul Laurence Dunbar Preservation Rare Dayton Photos Restaurants Retail Rike's Sanborn Maps Santa Clara South Park Sports St. Anne's Hill Then and Now Twin Towers University of Dayton Urban Planning Urban Renewal Wayne Avenue West Dayton Windsor Companies Wright-Dunbar Wright Brothers

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro On Genesis Framework · Affiliate Disclosure and Privacy Policy · WordPress · Log in