Feature Story
Two New Local Historic Districts are Formed in Dayton
The Washington Street Historic District and the South Side Historic District were formed earlier this year. They join the Downtown Dayton Historic District as part of the Local and National Registers of Historic Places.
These three houses near Third and Tremont Streets are in the new South Side Historic District.
Homes in the neighborhood south of Dayton's Main Street, between First and Third Streets are now part of the new South Side Historic District, which was created by the Dayton City Council in August. The District runs from the south side of Clay Street to Park Street, and includes 76 homes and churches. All but four of those are considered to be "contributing properties" to the historic significance of the District. Homes and buildings listed as "contributing" are included on the Local and National Registers of Historic Places.
Dayton now has three local Historic Districts, all formed under the guidelines of Dayton's Historic Preservation ordinance, which was enacted by the City Council in 1992. In January, the Washington Street Historic District was also formed. It includes 13 homes on the north side of Washington Street, between Front and Fourth streets. All of the homes in the Washington Street Historic District are considered contributing properties. Both of the new local residential Districts were placed on the State and National Registers in 1986.
According to Ginny Butler, chair of Dayton's Historic Preservation Commission, the new Districts will provide many benefits for homeowners. The most significant is the ability to defer increases in property taxes when improvements are made to their homes. "We also feel that there is an added level of prestige when someone's home is on the Register of Historic Places, as part of the new District," says Butler.
The Downtown Dayton Historic District was established in 1999. It includes 41 commercial buildings on Main Street, between Front and Third Streets, and on North 1st and 2nd Streets, between Main and Commercial Streets. At the time that District was created, 12 of the properties were considered non-contributing. The Commission now considers some of those to be contributing, as they've reached an age of 50 years. "They architecturally tell the history of changes made in the 1950's," says Butler.
All property owners wishing to make changes to the exteriors of their homes or buildings that are in an historic District are required to obtain a "Certificate of Appropriateness" (COA) from the Dayton Historic Preservation Commission. A COA is also required prior to making changes to "contributing historical interior features" in contributing properties, or any demolition or new construction within an Historic District.
For a contributing property, the Commission will review proposed changes to make sure that the historic and architectural features that allowed the property to be placed on the Historic Register are maintained. Owners of homes and buildings within an Historic District that are not considered "contributing" still must obtain a COA. Butler says that the Commission will allow changes to non-contributing buildings, as long as they don't cause a significant adverse effect on the overall historic nature of the district.
"The design review process ensures not only that individual historic properties are preserved, but also that the historic nature of the neighborhood is maintained as well," says Butler.CaptionThese three houses near Third and Tremont Streets are in the new South Side Historic District.