Lost history: Dayton properties that were damaged or demolished in recent years

The Louis Traxler Mansion, a famed West Dayton property that is part of the National Register of Historic Places, was badly damaged by fire early Sunday morning April 23, 2023, just days before it was scheduled to be auctioned. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

The Louis Traxler Mansion, a famed West Dayton property that is part of the National Register of Historic Places, was badly damaged by fire early Sunday morning April 23, 2023, just days before it was scheduled to be auctioned. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

While there is hope for some at-risk historical properties in the Dayton area, not all properties can be saved. According to Preservation Dayton, a champion and advocate for the Dayton region’s historic communities and properties, preserving Dayton’s rich history is a tough challenge. Recent years seem to have been tougher than most, with demolition crews and fires taking away important parts of Dayton’s history.

Here is an alphabetical list of several historical properties in the Dayton area that have been lost or damaged in recent years.

Becker’s Market

860 Brown St.

Becker's Market. 860 Brown St. Photo courtesy Preservation Dayton, Inc.

icon to expand image

Demolished in 2020.

Gem City Ice Cream Building

1005 W. Third St.

The historic Gem City Ice Cream building in Dayton's Wright-Dunbar neighborhood.

Credit: Photo: Amelia Robinson

icon to expand image

Credit: Photo: Amelia Robinson

Built in the Late 1800s with additions through 1928, the Gem City Ice Cream Company, founded in 1901, manufactured some of the first commercial ice cream in Ohio. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

The building, in Dayton’s Wright-Dunbar neighborhood, was demolished in 2022.

Alfred H. Iddings House

344 S. Main St.

Alfred H. Iddings House. 344 S. Main St. Photo courtesy Preservation Dayton, Inc.

icon to expand image

Dr. Alfred H. Iddings was a well known physician who practiced medicine for 38 years in Dayton. The house was demolished in 2020.

Robert M. Nevin House

1802 E. 3rd St.

Robert M. Nevin House. 1802 E. 3rd St. Photo courtesy Preservation Dayton, Inc.

icon to expand image

Robert Nevin was an attorney and three-term member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio from 1901 to 1907. The house was demolished in 2020.

Roberts Hall, United Theological Seminary

1800 Harvard Blvd.

Roberts Hall, United Theological Seminary
1800 Harvard Blvd.  Photo courtesy Preservation Dayton, Inc.

icon to expand image

The building was on the site of the old 32-acre United Theological Seminary campus in the Dayton View Triangle Neighborhood. It was demolished in 2021 to make room for Omega Senior Lofts, which will offer independent living options for older residents.

Snediker House

105 Oxford Ave.

Judge Edward T. Snediker built this brick Georgian-style home in the Dayton View Historic District in 1905. Snediker died on Oct 19, 1939. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. LISA POWELL / STAFF

Credit: Chris Stewart

icon to expand image

Credit: Chris Stewart

Judge Edward T. Snediker built this brick Georgian-style home in the Dayton View Historic District in 1905. Snediker died on Oct. 19, 1939. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Snediker was admitted to the bar in 1888. He served on the city Police Court in 1901 and moved to the Common Pleas Court in 1904. He remained on the bench for 32 years.

It was demolished in 2022.

St. Joseph School

400 E. 2nd St.

St. Joseph School. 400 E. 2nd St. Photo courtesy Preservation Dayton, Inc.

icon to expand image

Demolished in 2020.

Benjamin Stoner House

2618 E. 3rd St.

Benjamin Stoner House. 2618 E. 3rd St. Photo courtesy Preservation Dayton, Inc.

icon to expand image

Demolished in 2021.

Traxler mansion

42 Yale Ave., Dayton

Representatives of the city of Dayton and the history group Preservation Dayton discuss the fire at the Traxler Mansion at the corner of Broadway and Yale in West Dayton on Sunday, April 23, 2023. JEREMY P. KELLEY / STAFF

icon to expand image

Built in 1912 for Louis Traxler, this Flemish Chateauesque style building was added to the National Register of Historic Places individually in 1979 and again in 1984 as part of the Dayton View Historic District..

A fire destroyed much of this property in early 2023, however, a sheriff’s auction on the property was still scheduled for May 4.

Troy Tavern

112-118 W. Main St., Troy

The Troy Tavern building at 112-118 W. Main St. in Troy.

icon to expand image

Demolition was started in the rear of the building in 2023 but was halted by a court order.

The order restrains the owners from demolishing or otherwise removing any part of the structure unless otherwise directed by the court; to make temporary tarp repairs, if possible, to any building open air roof exposure; and reinstall three windows removed from south, east and west walls.

Wright Brothers Airplane Factory

99 Cowart Ave., Dayton

Dayton firefighters at the scene of a fire at the historic Wright brothers factory site in West Dayton on Sunday, March 26, 2023. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

icon to expand image

The Wright Brothers Airplane Factory is the oldest aircraft manufacturing building in the world and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The future of a historic building remains in doubt after a fire that burned much of the structure. The Wright Company factory buildings, which operated between 1910 and 1916, are significant because they were the birthplace of the American aviation industry, according to the National Park Service.

The hangars were later part of the former Delphi Home Avenue automotive complex, which closed in 2008.