Preservation Dayton received a $12,000 Ohio Department of Development grant in December to research and nominate the area on the register, Snow said.
“If the nomination is approved, this will pave the way for property owners to apply for state and federal historic tax credits,” she said.
The neighborhood has long been on Preservation Dayton’s radar. Found off North Main Street near Santa Clara Ave., the locale retains a unique character.
“Outside of East Fifth in the Oregon District and West Third in Wright-Dunbar, no early neighborhood commercial district with this level of density remains in Dayton,” Preservation Dayton says on its web site.
Sometimes called the “Smith building,” a two-story 14,000-square-foot, art-deco building with a curving front at 1921 to 1931 N. Main St., near the intersection of Santa Clara and Victor avenues, is something of a landmark in the area.
“It’s difficult to picture this part of the city without the structure that so perfectly and attractively fills its available space,” Preservation Dayton said.
Barbara Powers, who is charge of the Inventory & Registration Department for the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office, said the nomination will be on the agenda when the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board meets Sept. 20.
At the meeting, the board will make a recommendation to the State Historic Preservation Office on whether to put the district on the registry, Powers said.
Following the meeting, staff will finalize the nomination for the National Park Service, Powers said.
This post-meeting work typically takes several weeks, she added. The site may be listed in the National Register by November this year.
More details
The district was selected as one of Ohio’s “most endangered properties” by Preservation Ohio in 2022.
To be included on the register, properties should be least 50 years old while appearing much the way they did in the past, with links to events considered noteworthy.
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