Deeds Carillon
Credit: HANDOUT
Credit: HANDOUT
The largest musical instrument in Ohio — a Dayton landmark — is the setting for musical concerts throughout the year.
The 151-foot-tall carillon, containing 57 bells hanging in it’s tower, is located at the center of a sprawling lawn at the front door of the park.
The carillon bell tower was built by Col. Edward Deeds, the automotive pioneer and former NCR chief, and his wife, Edith Walton Deeds.
The tower, made of Indiana limestone, was specially designed to hold the massive weight of the bells. The largest original bell, the “bourdon,” weighed 7,000 pounds. It is now on display at the base of the structure.
Brethen Tower
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Ready to take a look at Dayton from a new vantage point? The Brethen Tower at Carillon Historical Park is the place.
Visitors can climb 120 steps and take in views of the park, Great Miami River and the surrounding area in the 100-foot-tower topped by the historic Callahan clock.
Print Shop and Industrial Block
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
The print shop is a key component of every Carillon field trip. In addition to visiting the shop as part of a larger museum tour, there’s an hour-long Printing 101 workshop in which students hand-set the type and learn about the various pieces of equipment while seeing it in action.
A new industrial block was dedicated on April 28, 2022. The complex, set in the 1920s and 1930s, features an expanded print shop, a demonstration foundry, a soap factory and a landscaped plaza for programming.
Youngsters Kids leave the shop proudly carrying a card printed on an 1890s proof press that bears their own name.
Be sure to see the Heidelberg Windmill printing press. It uses arms that spin like windmill blades to automatically feed blank paper into the press and pull out the printed paper. The Seybold Automatic Paper Cutter, made in Dayton and built before 1946, is also on site.
The original print shop, dedicated in 1988, was the park’s first jump into a hands-on experience for visitors involving a real trade. Now the Gem City Letterpress Company is joined by two new exhibits – the Rubicon Foundry and Air City Soap Company.
Wright Brothers National Museum
The Wright Brothers National Museum displays more Wright family artifacts than any place in the world.
Toward the end of his life, Orville Wright, the world’s first pilot, took on one last project, restoring the original 1905 Wright Flyer III for Carillon Park. While Orville died before Carillon Park opened in 1950, he had a hand in designing Wright Hall, the building that houses the Wright Flyer III.
The 1905 Wright Flyer III is the only airplane designated a National Historic Landmark. Orville considered it the Wright brothers’ most important aircraft. It remains the crown jewel of Carillon Historical Park.
A re-creation of the Wright Cycle Co. building is adjacent to the museum as a replica of Wilbur and Orville’s store at 1127 W. Third St. in West Dayton.
Carillon Brewing Company
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Visitors of Carillon Brewing Co. will experience is a living-history exhibit, displaying the origins of beer-making and historical demonstrations.
Patrons can order flights of beer, cocktails or food from a streamlined menu of favorites at the bar.
They will also be able to pick their own seats inside the brewery or in the outdoor biergarten framed by sycamore trees.
Train Displays
Credit: Lisa Powell
Credit: Lisa Powell
At the James F. Dicke Family Transportation Center you can see the the oldest existing American-built locomotive, the 1835 B&O #1, John Quincy Adams. Also on display are a 1903 Detroit & Mackinac Passenger Car, an 1843 Conestoga wagon, a 1904 interurban, a 1923 B&O caboose and many other transportation artifacts and memorabilia.
Miniature Train
Credit: E.L. Hubbard
Credit: E.L. Hubbard
The Carillon Park & Steam Society operates a 1/8th scale train each year.
Children and adults can take the 8-minute ride along a picturesque route through sycamore and cottonwood trees and underneath the 100-foot-tall Brethen Tower.
Train rides are held on select weekends throughout the year. Their schedule can be found HERE.
The Carousel
Housed in the Heritage Center of Manufacturing & Entrepreneurship, the Carousel of Dayton Innovation is an amusement ride made of 32 hand-carved icons from the Gem City’s past.
Each of the brightly painted wooden figures on the carousel tells a piece of Dayton’s story.
Among the icons spinning around the ride is a larger than life Scipio, the Saint Bernard dog that belonged to Orville Wright, a box of Esther Price chocolates, a Mikesell’s potato chip bag and a soap box derby car.
Old River Park treasures
Carillon Park opened across the street from NCR Old River Park in the summer of 1950. Old River Park was a recreational area for NCR employees and their families.
One of Old River Park’s most popular features was its swimming pool. Outfitted with diving boards and water slides, a large, ornate tower divided the pool’s shallow and deep ends.
The iconic Old River swimming pool light tower has been successfully moved and restored at Carillon Historical Park. Along with the tower, numerous Old River relics — a collection of original picnic shelters, swings, game pieces, and a slide — made their way to Carillon Park in an effort to preserve this regional story.
Bald Eagles
Orv and Willa are pair-bonded eagles, meaning mates for life. The eagles are residents at the park and have returned to Carillon Historical Park for several years to prepare a nest for eggs and raise their offspring.
Winsupply Center of Leadership
The 32,000-square-foot building connects the Kettering Family Education Center and the Carillon Brewing Co. buildings
It houses an expanded Culp’s Café, exhibit galleries, classrooms, meeting rooms and a 700-seat event space.
The two-story Eichelberger Pavilion, inside the Winsupply Center of Leadership, can seat up to 700 people for weddings or corporate events. Brass castings of historic NCR cash registers inspired the patterns in the wallpaper, carpet and the railings around the mezzanine.
Galleries
On display in the Schear Family Gallery is one of the first cash registers ever built and a gold-plated Huffy bicycle, the one-millionth to come off the line.
“Cheers to the Gem City” is the theme of the Roger Glass Gallery, a photo-centric exhibit focusing on familiar faces from television and film.
Culp’s Cafe
The restaurant’s décor ties into a golden age when Dayton experienced an “explosion of invention and energy” coinciding with Culp’s opening in the Dayton Arcade at the start of the 20th century.
A restored 1903 Barney & Smith interurban car is the centerpiece of the Culp’s Café.
Costumes for the servers are based on photographs from the Dayton History archives.
Visitors seated inside the rail car or at cast iron marble tables in the café can order classic Dayton recipes like Rike’s chicken salad and Culp’s cake, a decadent chocolate dessert.
A 30-foot-long soda fountain beckons with sodas, sundaes and phosphates.
Events
Carillon Park hosts many programs, activities and events throughout the year. To check what events are upcoming, check HERE.
HOW TO GO
What: Carillon Historical Park, a 65 acre open-air history museum
Where: 1000 Carillon Boulevard, Dayton, OH 45409
When: Monday – Saturday: 9:30am-5:00pm, Sunday: 12:00pm-5:00pm (*Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day)
Admission: $14 per adult (ages 18-59), $12 per senior, $10 per child (3 –17), Children age 2 and under and Dayton History members are FREE
Parking: Free
For more info: 937-293-2841 or www.daytonhistory.org