• 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

What’s Going On With? Balsley Building

May 3, 2018 By Andrew Walsh Leave a Comment


balsley building dayton oregon district
The Balsley Building at 424 E. 5th St. in the Oregon District

Dayton has seen a surge in redevelopment projects in recent years, but a few that were announced with much fanfare haven’t been able to get off the ground years later. This What’s Going On With series will chronicle those first announcements as well as later updates in order to paint a more complete picture of their status, like we did with the Dayton Arcade a few months ago. (To be clear, this series is not meant to call out the developers who invest their time and money in Dayton which we greatly appreciative. Instead, it aims to be fair to the people of Dayton by following up on the original pronouncements and being realistic about the likelihood these projects will happen anytime soon.)

The Balsley Building is an iconic Victorian structure and a major symbol of the Oregon District as one enters from the west. The building was constructed circa 1878 and was the carpentry shop of John Balsley, the inventor of the stepladder. The upper floors were lodge halls and although today the Oregon is notable for its bars, back then the Murphy Movement, a temperance organization, held meetings in the space which they called “Murphy Hall.” Another notable feature of the building is a roller skating rink on the third floor that survives to this day. Some have speculated that the top floor may have been used as an illegal speakeasy or gambling establishment during the prohibition years. The Balsley Building has been vacant for decades.

In October 2012, the building was sold to Clive and Geeta Wilson for $200,000, and at that time the president of the Oregon Historic District Society said the sale “is huge for the neighborhood” and that “people are just giddy with excitement.”

The new buyers took a few years to get started, but in May 2015, the Dayton Business Journal reported that the couple was planning to open several businesses in the space, starting with a bakery. At that time, they were said to have “poured hours of work and hundreds of thousands of dollars into cleaning up” the building, and that they hoped to open the bakery by the end of 2015. Other businesses planned included “a gift business, eco-friendly products, and a restaurant specializing in cuisine that will be new to the area.” Around then, the couple received offers from local businesspeople to build a penthouse on the third floor but they turned them down because “we don’t want it to be only enjoyed by only one person. It’s all about the community. We want to honor the past and ignite the future.”

Despite the enthusiasm, progress soon stalled. In March 2017, the couple bought a new building, the Postal Family Credit Union building at 803 E. Fifth St, and at that time it was reported that the Balsley project had been put on the back-burner because the couple were now renovating a house (interestingly, the John Balsley mansion directly behind the commercial building) instead. They said the Balsley Building redevelopment is “an expensive undertaking” because they’re self-funded. By that point they would also have to resubmit plans to the city. The Wilsons hoped to resume the project by the end of 2017, but as of April 2018 no visible progress has been made.

This current effort is not the first redevelopment proposal for the iconic but long vacant building. In 2009, Michael Martin, then president of the Oregon District Business Association, envisioned “an incubator for struggling artists there, where they could work and exhibit” but that never made much progress.

Long before that in 1992, developer Ross Sussman hoped to open a nightclub in the space, but that would have required a transfer of a liquor license or the issuing of a new one, which has long been opposed by many in the neighborhood.

Hopefully progress can resume soon and a fully-restored Balsley Building will welcome passersby to the Oregon District.

Image via @jonwhite17

Sources

Oregon District building holds history, promise – Couple undertake $1 million rehab of structure. Dayton Daily News, June 2, 2015

Historic Oregon District building sold. https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/historic-oregon-district-building-sold/SvOS4KOYP0a5xr1wgLvidJ/

See inside the Oregon District’s historic Balsley Building in mid-transformation. https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2015/05/27/see-inside-the-oregon-districts-historic-balsley.html

Exclusive: Dayton family to open bakery in historic downtown building. https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2015/05/27/exclusive-dayton-family-to-open-bakery-in-historic.html

Company buys second Oregon District property – Dayton owner of Be Nice LTD researching uses, but not telling yet. Dayton Daily News, March 20, 2017

Oregon District businesses say arts initiative working – Most storefronts are occupied and investment continues despite recession. Dayton Daily News, March 6, 2009

Obstacles Remain for Oregon Complex. Dayton Daily News, May 19, 1992

Oregon, Oregon Historic District Society, Inc. 1978

Related Posts:

  • lutzenberge_459_small
    The Historic Roundhouse at the Fairgrounds and the…
  • What's Going On With? Dayton Arcade Redevelopment
    What's Going On With? Dayton Arcade Redevelopment
  • Then and Now: 124 East Third Street in the Fire Blocks
    Then and Now: 124 East Third Street in the Fire Blocks
  • lindsey mccrory buildings dayton
    McCrory's: The Dayton Arcade Building That's Already…
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: New Developments Tagged With: Bakery, Balsley Building, John Balsley, Longer, Oregon District, What's Going On With?

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply 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

901 keowee st

Award-Winning Architecture at the Corner of Keowee and Webster

historic building at washington and longworth dayton

Midtown Survivors at Washington and Longworth

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

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 Historic Homes House Histories Huffman Industrial Buildings John H Patterson NCR Old Dayton Maps Old North Dayton 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