Iconic Rike’s Department Store displays, one of Dayton’s oldest holiday traditions.

Visitors take in the windows of Rike's department store in 1952.  Frederik Rike, owner of the Rike-Kumler Co., moved the Christmas window displays from New York City to downtown Dayton in 1945. DAYTON DAILY NEWS / WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Credit: Contributed photo

Credit: Contributed photo

Visitors take in the windows of Rike's department store in 1952. Frederik Rike, owner of the Rike-Kumler Co., moved the Christmas window displays from New York City to downtown Dayton in 1945. DAYTON DAILY NEWS / WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Rike’s department store was known for its decorations and activity around Christmastime.

Many Daytonians may remember being enthralled by the animated store windows around the holidays.

The iconic Rike’s Department Store displays were a popular holiday tradition in downtown Dayton for decades and are now featured annually in the Schuster Center’s Wintergarden.

To many Daytonians, it’s just not Christmas without seeing the animated characters that once delighted shoppers at Rike’s.

How it started

The history of the window displays can be traced back to 1943 when the National Cash Register Co. placed five scenes from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” in its New York City office windows. Dressed in period attire, the figures were incorporated into elaborate backgrounds built by NCR carpenters.

The original Rike's Christmas windows: "Santaland Festival,"  photographed in 1965.Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University, via the Victoria Theatre Association

icon to expand image
icon to close expanded image

In 1945 Frederick Rike, owner of the Rike-Kumler Co., successfully campaigned to move the display into the windows of his department store at Second and Main streets in downtown Dayton. From that time on, a visit to the windows became a popular tradition for many families in the Miami Valley. The sidewalks around the store overflowed with families gazing at the cheerful characters inside the festive windows.

Pedestrians pass by the Rike’s department store Christmas windows in 1981. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVE

icon to expand image
icon to close expanded image

Many of the displays had moving parts. Examples included a brother in a bunk bed swatting at his sleeping sister below, two little bears on a teeter-totter in the forest, an elf driving a rocket ship in Santa’s Workshop, a dad rocking to and fro as he played his trumpet, a mom hanging an ornament on the tree and a little boy moving his new truck back and forth.

PHOTOS: Take a look back through Dayton’s Christmas past

An end and new beginning

After the store closed in 1991, the window displays were auctioned off to other communities and private buyers. The animated figures and The Tike’s Shop — the kids-only zone where children can shop alone — took up seasonal residence at the Huber Centre. When space issues closed the Huber Centre’s holiday display, many of the remaining animated figures were purchased by the Downtown Dayton Partnership.

One of Rike;s Department Store’s longest-running holiday traditions began with the creation of an animated Christmas window display. Submitted photo.

icon to expand image
icon to close expanded image

The display found a new home in 2003 when the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center opened and the Downtown Dayton Partnership donated the holiday figures to the Arts Center Foundation. The animated figures were placed into newly created displays.

A makeover

It started on impulse, with Oakwood native Adam Koch offering up his design services, saying he’d love to be involved in the re-imagining of a beloved Christmas tradition that meant so much to him and his family. Some months later, Koch and his partner, Steven Royal, were hired for the job.

In 2017, Koch, a New York-based scenic designer, began giving the beloved displays a makeover after $65,000 was raised for the project.

The Victoria Theatre Association unveiled the final installment of the re-designed Rike’s Wonderland Windows Nov. 26, 2019, at a special event for donors, designers, staff and their families. Designed by critically acclaimed theater and opera set designer and Dayton native, Adam Koch, along with Adam Koch Associates’ partner Steven Royal, the animated elves and animals have been a holiday tradition for Dayton families. The elves first appeared in the windows of Rike’s Department Store in the 1940s. The Rike’s Wonderland Windows displays are free and open to the public and can be viewed inside the Schuster Center lobby starting Friday, Nov. 29, 2019. TOM GILLIAM/CONTRIBUTED

Credit: Tom Gilliam

icon to expand image
icon to close expanded image

Credit: Tom Gilliam

In 2018, two of his redesigned windows, “The Nutcracker” and “The North Pole,” debuted to the delight of thousands of visitors. Four more windows were revealed in 2019: “Woodland,” “Silent Night,” “Snow Day” and “Christmastime,” each with characters from the original windows as well as some newly discovered and donated figures.

After the holidays, the more than 75 individually wrapped characters are stored in the basement of the Schuster Center. Each figure and display is protected to prevent dust and moisture from settling and ensure the treasures for future generations.

PHOTOS: Rike’s Holiday Windows at the Schuster Center

On display now

The charming animated windows have been on display in the Schuster Center’s Wintergarden during the holidays for more than 20 years and still have the power to engage and delight.

"Snow Day", one of the 2019 new reveals as part of Rike's Holiday Windows. Designed by critically acclaimed theatre and opera scenic designer and Dayton native Adam Koch, along with partner Steven Royal, the windows featuring animated elves, animals and other figures have been a holiday tradition for countless Dayton families since the elves first appeared in the windows of Rike’s Department Store in the 1940's.

Credit: Contributed

icon to expand image
icon to close expanded image

Credit: Contributed

The windows are generally available for viewing Monday-Friday 6 a.m.-6:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The windows will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, and will not be available for public viewing during private events.

The display is free and no tickets are required.

About the Author