Planning and construction
Planning for the building had begun years before by a group of Civil War veterans who “congregated together” and came up with the idea to erect the memorial, according to the Jan. 5, 1910 edition of The Journal Herald newspaper.
For $52,000, a site was purchased at “two of Dayton’s finest streets,” the corner of East First and St. Clair.
Memorial Hall is a two-story brick building with a concrete foundation, a ceramic tile roof, and details of stone and terracotta. the center of the building was made to hold the activities for which the building was was made. A grand Neoclassical entrance, with columns, sits atop the steps at the front of the building.
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Credit: Mixed
The building’s entrance comprises the memorial itself, with inscriptions honoring local Civil War soldiers. Sculptures honoring Spanish-American War and World War I soldiers stand in the same area.
The construction costs for Memorial Hall were detailed in The Journal Herald and included the price of a smoke stack, $1,250; brick, $3,073.27; electric fixtures, $1,500; and “decoration of walls,” $4,275. The final cost for the project was $263,532.
Dedication ceremony
The community turned out at noon for the dedication, which was filled with addresses by generals, colonels and judges, as well as songs by the Dayton Glee Club.
A parade, led by the Sons of Veterans drum corps, formed at Jefferson Street and marched to a flagstaff at the southeast corner of the building. There, the marchers were joined by area schoolchildren under the watch of Dayton’s then-Superintendent of Schools, E. J. Brown.
Numerous speeches were made congratulating all involved including the architect, William Earl Russ, the son of a soldier who “had left an arm on one of the bloody fields.”
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Credit: Mixed
The building was designed as a “palace of peace,” but also to be a gathering place for the community. Exposition space, an auditorium and a historical library were a few of the amenities inside the building designed in “a modern Americanized version of the French Renaissance.”
The ceremony wrapped up with the presentation of a silk flag by “Old Guard Post 23,” one of the initial groups that planned the project.
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Credit: Mixed
“I am proud of having the honor of planting the seed from which has grown this beautiful and useful building,” Doren Bates said on behalf of the guard post.
“There is no inanimate object that has exerted so great an influence over the people of this world or has been such a prime factor in shaping their destinies as that most beautiful of all banners, Old Glory.
“And as it so proudly floats from the staff, it proclaims to the world that their sufferings and sacrifices were not in vain, that through their services the government of the people, by the people, and for the people did not perish from the earth.”
Credit: Mixed
Credit: Mixed
Early years
From the time it opened until the mid-1950s Memorial Hall was used for many of Dayton’s biggest cultural events. Concerts and plays were regularly held in the auditorium.
Sporting events, including professional wrestling and even an occasional basketball game were also held there. Boxing was popular and The Dayton Daily News starting sponsoring Golden Gloves boxing matches at Memorial Hall in 1935.
Repairs and renovations
Memorial Hall was closed for repairs and renovations many times over the years.
In 1940, it was closed for safety concerns that needed to be addressed and for comfort upgrades. The smokestack, ceiling and roof were declared to be in dangerous condition. Estimates on the repairs came in at $30,000.
When first built, and musical and vocal acts were brought in, it became quickly evident that the building had “abominable acoustics.” Because of the terrible sound quality, a false ceiling was constructed. That false ceiling was in bad shape by 1940 and needed repairs.
In 1956, at a cost of $865,000, the hall was stripped down to the interior walls and converted into an auditorium that seated 2,500. The acoustics and stage floor were dramatically improved.
To raze or not to raze?
As time went on repair and renovation costs increased. By 1986, Memorial Hall had deteriorated to the point that it would take an estimated $8 million to $10 million to fix it up and make it accessible to all of the community.
Around that time period, plans were taking shape for what would become the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center which was to serve a duplicate purpose as the similar sized Memorial Hall, which made people feel that Memorial Hall was expendable, especially since it was costing the city between $150,000 to $200,000 a year subsidize the auditorium’s operations.
Under consideration was razing Memorial Hall to make a parking lot for the new arts center.
Ultimately, the building was saved from the wrecking ball.
Moving out
The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra permanently moved to Memorial Hall from the Victoria Theatre in 1942, as demand for tickets increased.
In February of 2003, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra held last concert at Memorial Hall before moving to the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center.
They played the first piece the orchestra ever performed at Memorial Hall, Felix Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture. The last piece performed was Ludwig van Beethoven’s Consecration of the House.
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