Header Graphic
Dayton Memories > Pieces of Dayton that most wont remember.
Pieces of Dayton that most wont remember.
Login  |  Register
Page: 1 2 3 4

RIVERDALE RAT
68 posts
Aug 27, 2009
9:46 PM
The Jockey Club, the elevator operators at the Reibold building, the lunch counter at H.L.Greens, signing up for the draft at the Knott building, the tragic fire at White Allen Chevrolet, the old stone church at 2nd & Ludlow that was torn down to make way for Rikes parking garage, The Brownie Cops that used to keep order in the parking lots of all the fast food/Drive thru restaurants on the weekends, The car hop's at Hasty Tasty, The time that the roof caved on the new Dayton Flyers Arena while it was still under construction, The Lorain avenue bus # 6, the brief period when all Dayton City Transit Bus Drivers were Deputized to carry guns, Bernie's Music store, the Maud Muller apartment building, Delco when it ran full blast 3 shifts a day, the Antler Hotel, the big blue Paddy Wagons that Dayton Police used, the Miami Hotel...Those were the days.

Last Edited by on Aug 27, 2009 9:49 PM
pie8me
10 posts
Aug 28, 2009
2:12 PM
How about the fire at the "Barrel Factory" at Patterson and Fairfield. That area is still toxic.

Anyone remember a big passenger airplane landing on I-75 somewhere north of Tipp City. Would have been early 60's I'm guessing. 75 was still under construction so there wasn't any traffic I believe. My Grandad drove up and took pictures of it, still have the slides. Would love to get the details on this as it's just a fuzzy memory for me.

How about when Sonic booms were a common sound around here.
RIVERDALE RAT
71 posts
Aug 28, 2009
8:19 PM
pie8me: The only major fires I remember are the old Troy Pearl laundry, White Allen chevrolet, and the big furniture store on east 5th st. near Patterson (north side of the street) I am wanting to say it was Day & Company. I watched that one for almost 2 hours.

Dont remember the plane landing but I sure remember the sonic booms...Good Post.
pie8me
17 posts
Aug 28, 2009
8:57 PM
If I remember, the fire was in 68 or thereabouts. We called it the Barrel factory but it really was just a chemical dump. Guess you could get away with that back then. I remember 55 gal drums exploding going 300 to 400 feet in the air. Here is info from the EPA...

The Lammers Barrel Factory site is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Grange-Hall and East Patterson Roads, in Beavercreek, Greene County, Ohio. The company operated as a chemical recycling facility from 1953 until 1969. During its operation, the facility maintained above-ground storage capacity of over 500,000 gallons as well as a number of vertical tanks, several transport trucks and semitrailers, and approximately 6000 55-gallon drums. The site is located on a two-acre parcel of land, and is divided into north and south portions by Little Beaver Creek.

The facility burned to the ground in September, 1969. As a result of the fire, chemicals migrated into the soil and ground water. On-site soil is now contaminated with organic chemicals and metals, and is considered by U.S. EPA to be the source of the ground water contamination.

Contamination in some private residential wells was first discovered in the mid-1980s. In 1985, U.S. EPA, as an emergency measure, extended county water service to nine residences along East Patterson Road with wells containing vinyl chloride, a known cancer-causing chemical. Through additional investigations, (see Site Updates) U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA learned that ground water contamination extends from the site outward to the east, south, and southeast and impacts an area along the northern end of the Woodhaven subdivision. EPA extended water lines to three additional homes in 2000.

In 2002, EPA proposed the Lammers Barrel Factory site to the National Priorities List of Superfund hazardous waste sites, a roster of sites eligible for investigation and cleanup under the Superfund program (see the Federal Register notice).

In addition, EPA and private parties signed an administrative order for the parties to conduct a more extensive investigation of soils, ground water and sediment. That investigation began in 2003 and is ongoing.
RIVERDALE RAT
76 posts
Aug 28, 2009
9:33 PM
OK, the barrel's shooting in the sky shook my brain dander a little bit. I do remember something about it now. just one more thing that would have remained lost in the anals of my mind forever if not for this site and the good people who post here.
MikeH
7 posts
Aug 29, 2009
8:26 PM
Requwarth lumber on Monument burned in 1969 and the NCR building at Stewart and Main burned not long after.
----------
Mike Harris
Class of ' 69
RIVERDALE RAT
81 posts
Aug 29, 2009
9:01 PM
MikeH; I remember the lumber yard fire now but I didnt see it. did that old yard have a Green fence around it ?
dont remember the NCR fire though, was it a bad one.
etbetb
9 posts
Aug 29, 2009
9:03 PM
Riverdale:

Armed City Transit drivers? I got a picture of an Armed Street Supervisor from 1969 here:

http://www.daytontrolleys.net/washstcalamity/htm/usa_h_day_washstcalam_mh_621_12_19691003_hh.htm

C'ya
etbetb
RIVERDALE RAT
82 posts
Aug 29, 2009
9:48 PM
etbetb: great picture, thanks for the link. that was the same type of revolver carried by the drivers. I think the supervisors may have been armed first. I cant remember exactly but I think it was around 66 or 67 when it started. the drivers used to carry cash and sell bus tokens. there was a very high incidence of robbery and violence on some of the lines. I am not sure how long this continued but I remember it well. by the way I remember those old trolleys very well, the one in the picture was route # 9 which would have been the Valley St/cincinnati St. line. the supervisors used to be stationed in little green booths around the downtown areas to keep watch over the routes and answer questions and hand out bus schedules I can remember the booths at 1st & Main SE corner by the old victory, 3rd & Main NE corner by Gem City savings and 5th & main SE corner by the clothing store. there were more but I forget where.

Checked out the animated roll signs but I disagree with a couple of them. for one they have the Wayne ave route under #3 and the Wayne ave route was the eastbound route of # 4. they have the #6 as out of service. the number 6 was the Lorain ave route which was taken out of service around 65 or 66. they have Townview as a destination under the route 1. this may have came about at a later date but the west end of the 1 was Drexel. townview was a seperate feeder line that connected outside and never came downdown. here are many destinations under the routes 5 & 7 before later extensions the main northbound destinations for these routes were 5 Hillcrest and 7 forrest Park. there were several early cut off points known as short lines.

Last Edited by on Aug 29, 2009 10:10 PM
CurtT
8 posts
Aug 30, 2009
5:20 AM
I remember the Barrel factory Fire very well. I used to live at Dorothy Ln and Wilmington Pike in Kettering and could see the flashes in the sky from that area when the barrels blew up into the sky.
I few of us took off on our bikes to try to find out where all the flashes and booms were coming from. I think Belmont Drive In was as far as we made it before we got stopped by cops blocking Patterson Rd. Just making it that close to it you could feel some of the heat from the barrels exploding.

Last Edited by on Aug 30, 2009 5:24 AM
tlturbo
129 posts
Aug 30, 2009
5:55 AM
The barrel factory factory was a mess. I lived in Beavercreek and there was an Ault & James Speed shop I believe across the street. I remember the street light lens having melted and when they cooled, they were like large plastic tear drops hanging from the light fixtures. That place was a real mess. Thanks for the article, I didn't realize that it contaminated the ground water. I guess I thought "barrel factory' meant they made barrels all these years.

Speaking about airplane crashes, I was in school at Beavercreek High when the Canberra bomber broke up and a huge chunk of it crashed between the 2 wings of the high school without hitting anything.

Another memory I have that I can't seem to find others remembering is that we boated and water skiied a LOT at Triangle Park from the Keowee bridge down past the park. MANY weekends spent skiing and boating there. Last time I was there I couldn't even see the old boat ramp.

And of course anyone that was into the car scene has vivid memories of the Brownie Cops at the popular drive-in restaurants. If you had a good parking spot, they would make you keep ordering stuff or leave.

Last Edited by on Aug 30, 2009 5:56 AM
RIVERDALE RAT
84 posts
Aug 30, 2009
10:38 AM
Back in the day I used to have cruising routes set up for fri and sat nights. one night I would start out on Brown street at the Red barn with a Barnbuster and a coke after checking out the scene at the barn and Arbys, I would head around the corner and up the hill to Frisch's for a piece of strawberry pie. that area was mainly UD students on the weekends and the brownie cops earned their money. there were often clashes between the locals and the students. after the Frisch's stop I would head to Parkmoor on Shroyer Rd and the rest of the night would be spent cruising between there and the Country Kitchen at wilmington Pk. and dorthy Lane. the other night would be spent bouncing back and forth between the spots on Keowee and North Main. I always made sure to hit all the spots. Parkmoor, Frisch's and Hasty tasty. Charburger was OK but they never seemed to have near the action as the other spots. hasty tasy used to have my favorite car hops. by then I had my 2nd car, a 64 Dodge Dart. it was Bronze with black interior, not new but cherry. I bought it for $850. thought I was the coolest thing on the planet back in those days.
dquartz
1 post
Aug 30, 2009
2:53 PM
Riverdale.. I thought rikes parking garage was at main and monument beside the old biltmore hotel. seems there was a budget rent a car counter there in the lobby off of main street.
RIVERDALE RAT
89 posts
Aug 30, 2009
3:03 PM
dquartz: there was a parking garage there. I am not sure if it was also owned by Rikes however the rental car counter that you are thinking of was in fact "Rikes rent a car" used to be able to rent a brand new Chevy Nova for $6.00 a day and 6 cents a mile and they furnished the gas and oil even if you bought it on the road. the parking garage at 2nd and Ludlow was Rikes garage with a Rikes sign. it was 6 stories high and had color coded levels and elevator buttons so you wouldnt forget where you parked.
driver62
208 posts
Aug 30, 2009
3:46 PM
I think the parking garage at Monument and Main was for Sears which was right down the street but I could be wrong on that. There was a Budget or Avis rental place there also. I rented a car there once and I know it wasn't Rikes then.

Anyway, the garage is gone and another office building sits there. I think Dayton has as many office buildings as it has parking lots.
RIVERDALE RAT
91 posts
Aug 30, 2009
4:01 PM
driver62: if memory serves, I beleive the garage was a bit far away for Sears which was down at 1st and Patterson. Sears had a huge parking lot but no garage in the immediate vicinity.
the rent a car counter that I remember was in the lobby of the garage by the alleyway behind the Biltmore. it may have changed hands several times but I am pretty sure it started out as Rikes rent a car. I am thinking Avis was across the street on 1st street by the cafeteria ? can anybody else help us with this ?
RIVERDALE RAT
93 posts
Aug 30, 2009
5:35 PM
dquartz: I remember their commercial like it was yesterday. "I dont care about making money, I just Love to sell carpet" just guessing here but I am wanting to say it was Harry's. Help anybody ?
corvettes6
34 posts
Aug 30, 2009
6:00 PM
Riverdale Rat do you remember the Green Arrow Bar what was the one acrooss the street from White Allen How about Max Ablons Renault of Dayton where the alsoo sold the Amphicar that was a car and boat That was 660 N main
Marck1957
63 posts
Aug 30, 2009
6:56 PM
It was a Rike's Parking garage at Main and Monument, on the SE corner, across the street from the Fire House. Rike's had two garages downtown, the other being at Second and Ludlow. Way way back in time Rike's was floating the idea of building a pedestrian bridge over the street connecting the store and the garage. That idea didn't go far, but it is a testament to how active downtown Dayton used to be. The garage at Main and Monument had the corkscrew downturn to exit the garage, which was a new idea then. When it opened my boyhood friends dad took us downtown just to drive to the top of the garage and ride down that circular ramp! How "hick" is that!? It was an Avis Car Rental out front, and it was only recently demolished. What was their motto from the 70s? Red letters on a white background. Anybody know?
Turbo...I remember the boating on the Miami River at Triangle Park from the 60s. You're right, there was a boat ramp, and many people skiied there. Do you remember the docks that were there, floating on the water? We would walk out on them and rock them back and forth. When the wake from the powerboats reached those docks it would move them up and down. We thought that was great fun. On a guess, I'd say the boating ended there in the early 70s.
Corvettes...The Renault dealer had signs around the lot with green neon cars that blinked on and off, which captivated me as a little kid. They sold those Renaults (Renault 16s?) for "Sixteen Ninety Five", as the commercials said, which I thought meant $16.95! I remember telling my dad that I had that much money, and I could buy one for him! There was another bar on the other side of I-75 , on Main Street, that had green neon Irish hats that blinked on and off. Was it the "Green Derby"? I think it was at Hershey Street.
And yes..."I don't care about making money! I just LOVE selling carpet!" Thanks for the memories!

Last Edited by on Aug 30, 2009 6:59 PM
dquartz
7 posts
Aug 30, 2009
6:58 PM
there was a bar called the green derby on main street but I think that was a little farther up than where you guys are talking. also I think Bill Stepp had a bar up on north main street there somewhere.
RIVERDALE RAT
97 posts
Aug 30, 2009
7:27 PM
dquartz: yes, the Green Derby was a bit farther up like Marck1957 said it was at Hershey St. (East side of main) there was another bar farther up on the west side of the street across from the Red Barn. it had a blue front on it and a couple of apartments upstairs. I cant remember the name "Joeys" or something. that was the only bar that I knew to be associated with Bill Stepp. I cant say he owned it but he was affiliated in some way because thats where the cops would always go to look for him.

Marck1957: thanks for reminding me of the corkscrew ramp, I forgot all about that one. it was on the monument side of the garage if memory serves. do you remember the old stone church that they tore down at 2nd and Ludlow to make way for the garage ?

if memory serves Hertz was always "we're #1" and Avis was "We Try Harder" or am I in the wrong decade ?

Last Edited by on Aug 30, 2009 7:40 PM
Marck1957
64 posts
Aug 30, 2009
9:54 PM
You're correct, it was "We Try Harder". Thanks.
No, darnit, I have no memory of the church at Second and Ludlow, the site of the other Rike's Parking garage. It looks like it was beautiful, and I wish I had seen it. Dayton sure has/had many stately churches. It often seems peculiar to me why we demolish so many of our older buildings.

Last Edited by on Aug 30, 2009 9:58 PM
RIVERDALE RAT
102 posts
Aug 31, 2009
10:10 AM
Marck1957: "It looks like it was beautiful" DID YOU FIND A PHOTO SOMEWHERE ? I would love to see it. all I can remember is it was an old stone church with a steeple (I think) and yes it is criminal how they rip down and gut our old historical sites. I still remember watching as they tore down the old county jail on 3rd street (across from the Liberal market) every now and then I take a trip up main street on Google maps and I get sick when I see whats been done. I am suprised the old Beermans building and the Courthouse have survived. did they tear down the old Gem City building or just refurbish it ? I know they moved the clock.

Last Edited by on Aug 31, 2009 10:10 AM
tlturbo
132 posts
Aug 31, 2009
10:55 AM
R-Rat - What years did you hang out at the Country Kitchen? I practically lived there from 1968 to early 72. Now that I think about it, I would occasionally hit the Parkmoor? in Moraine but it was kind of small.

Marck - I know we skiied at Triangle until at least the winter of 71-72. I moved to FL Jan 72. And YES, I remember the floating docks.
RIVERDALE RAT
103 posts
Aug 31, 2009
11:50 AM
turbo: "you'll enjoy a Country Boy" Remember that ?
67 and parts of 68 and 69. I remember a Car Hop named Carla, a Waitress named Betty, some guy named Scott in a Corvair and a guy everybody hated that drove a light blue Comet and some of the most Smart Aleck brownie cops in all of dayton. I started tailing off from there about mid 68 early 69 (had a romantic interest elsewhere)
dquartz
11 posts
Aug 31, 2009
10:14 PM
Riverdale: do you remember a drugstore on main street just a couple of blocks north of the red barn ?

are you sure cliff cab was around in the 60s cause nobody seems to remember them ?

was the the jockey club on that part of main street too ?
RIVERDALE RAT
106 posts
Aug 31, 2009
10:34 PM
Marck1957: thanks i'll shoot you an e-mail as soon as I get off of here.

dquartz: Yes I remember the drugstore, it was on the SE corner of Main and Helena. Russ Guerra got shot there one night during a robbery. I am drawing a blank on the name of the drug store though.

Cliff Cab was still around through the 60s and into the 70s.

The Jockey Club was not on Main street anywhere.
rfk61
7 posts
Sep 01, 2009
4:16 PM
I remember the Barrel Factory fire. I lived off Indian Ripple at the time, I was 8 years old. My best friend's dad was a volunteer firefighter and was there. We saw the barrels flying up in the air from our house and we were so scared that her dad was going to be hurt...thank goodness he was fine.
dquartz
13 posts
Sep 01, 2009
8:34 PM
riverdale or anybody... do you remember anything about a policeman getting shot/killed in south dayton ? this would have been around 1964,1965 or 1966. because it seems to me like i remember something about him sitting in his car and being shot through the windshield. i think this was in south dayton near the oakwood line.
RIVERDALE RAT
115 posts
Sep 01, 2009
10:21 PM
dquartz: I am going to go way out on a limb here and say that the only incident similar to what you have described (that I can remember) involved a Dayton Police Officer by the name of Carl Goodpastor (not sure of the spelling) but I can still picture the photo in the Journal/News of a police officer looking up and pointing to the shattered glass and bullet hole in the window of his Police Car. according to initial reports the officer came under fire from a party or parties unknown for reasons unknown. this occured while he was seated in or near the vehicle and the shot narrowly missed striking him. if memory serves, this incident did occur in far south dayton.

Almost forgot to add the ending of the story. After further investigation and questioning, the Officer FINALLY admitted that he had staged the whole incident. I cant recall what his reasoning was. I think he may have been going through maritial problems or something. he was of course fired from the department.

Last Edited by on Sep 01, 2009 10:29 PM
dquartz
21 posts
Sep 01, 2009
11:27 PM
the main thing i remember about the barrel company fire was my dad saying over and over that it was a miracle nobody got killed that day.
Steve K
88 posts
Sep 02, 2009
9:54 AM
Riverdale Rat... you mean the Presbyterian church at Second and Ludlow? There are some photos of it at the Dayton library website.... here's a color postcard if the link works...

http://content.daytonmetrolibrary.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/postcards&CISOPTR=295&CISOBOX=1&REC=13
RIVERDALE RAT
118 posts
Sep 02, 2009
6:10 PM
pie8me: Good article. I tried researching on the library web one time but I was in a bit of a hurry and it looked like you need a Library acccount number to do the search. thats a bit difficult for me since I live out of state.

SteveK: yes it probably was a Presbyterian church. I was pretty young back then. all I remember is walking past it one day with my mother and they had the front doors open so we popped inside for a quick minute to admire the stained glass windows. the next time I came by that area the church was gone and they were building the parking garage. Thanks Much for the link.
RIVERDALE RAT
132 posts
Sep 04, 2009
6:14 AM
dquartz: the Maud Muller apartments was an old 6 story brick building that sat on the SW corner of east 3rd street and Perry Street. many years ago there was a candy store on the first floor at the corner. the Jockey Club was an old neighborhood bar that once stood at east 2nd and Sears street on the NE corner.
dquartz
34 posts
Sep 04, 2009
6:28 PM
i dont remember either of these. was delco still up and running then ? anybody else ever heard of these places ?
dayton52
2 posts
Sep 04, 2009
7:26 PM
Miami Hotel ... my mom was an elevator operator in 48-50. Fell 25 feet down the elevator shaft and didn't loose her leg! No workers comp in those days.
RIVERDALE RAT
143 posts
Sep 05, 2009
2:36 AM
dquartz: Yes, Delco was running full blast in those Days.
dquartz
45 posts
Sep 05, 2009
10:39 AM
does anybody know what ever became of the old GHR foundry ?
RIVERDALE RAT
152 posts
Sep 05, 2009
11:49 AM
dquartz: last time I knew the building was still standing, I think they painted it a light green if memory serves.
RIVERDALE RAT
163 posts
Sep 05, 2009
4:43 PM
dayton52: I dont remember a whole lot about the old Miami Hotel I was just a kid when I first went there. it and the Purple Cow were still open but they were closed not too long after my first visit. your Mom was a very lucky lady, that fall would have killed a lot of people.
dquartz
68 posts
Sep 06, 2009
4:50 PM
riverdale do you remember any of the stores that were inside of the arcade ? i mean the part that you entered off of third street not the part where all the restaurants and stuff were.
tlturbo
144 posts
Sep 07, 2009
6:14 PM
I worked at E F McDonald on Ludlow and would go into the arcade at lunch to a big fish market where you could get a lb of shrimp and they would throw it in the fryer, toss in some fries and throw it all in a greasy paper bag to take back to work. YUM.
dayton52
4 posts
Sep 07, 2009
7:05 PM
Yes there was a lot of praying for mom during that time. My sister and I wouldn't be here if she hadn't survived that fall!! I have spent years trying to find the newspaper article about the fall but have never been able to zero in on it. Mom as passed and there is no one left that knows an exact date. My older sister remembers it was sometime between 1948 and 1950 but that's it. She remembers the story was on the radio because all the neighbors knew about it. Oh well....it's an interesting family story!!
dquartz
86 posts
Sep 07, 2009
8:35 PM
turbo..what was E.F. McDonald ? that may be a dumb question but i really dont know.
RIVERDALE RAT
197 posts
Sep 07, 2009
8:58 PM
turbo: I know where you are talking about. that was in the main arcade under the dome.
RIVERDALE RAT
198 posts
Sep 07, 2009
9:02 PM
dayton52: the only other thing I know would be to try and search medical records. they probably took her to either Saint Elizabeth or Miami Valley. doing that would probably end up being more of a hassle than plowing through 2-3 years of Newspaper articles. the public library used to have all of those old editions on the Fish.
dquartz
90 posts
Sep 07, 2009
9:29 PM
riverdale..dont look like anybody remembers any of the stores in the other part of the arcade. nobody remembers if the old GHR foundry building is torn down either. i have one more question thats been bugging me. i dont like to start new threads for just one silly question so i hope you dont mind me using this thread about dayton.. does anybody remember a gay nightclub in the downtown area ? I used to have a smart aleck friend who thought it was the funniest thing in the world to send guys down there who was new in town and looking for a place to go party. i remember he almost got his butt kicked one time when he run into some guy he had sent there earlier in the evening. i almost busted a gut laughing at him as the guy was yeling and cussing him out.
RIVERDALE RAT
201 posts
Sep 07, 2009
9:44 PM
dquartz: anybody can ask anything on any of my threads, I dont own them I just started them. there used to be a bar with a black and silver front on it, it stood on west 2nd street across from the bus stop that was in front of Rikes. the place was called the Stage Door. every body said that it was a gay bar. there was another one that was upstairs over the Victory theater, it was a private club called the Tiki or something like that. I know it was a gay place because all the guys that worked at the Victory told me about it. rumor had it that they had illegal gambling/card rooms up there too.but that was just rumors, I dont know that for sure. the one your buddy used to send everyone to was probably the Stage Door. I knew a couple of guys that used to pull that on people too.
newsnot
81 posts
Sep 08, 2009
7:15 AM
tlturbo
didnt a & p give out the plaid stamps? did liberal markets give out stamps?
tlturbo
147 posts
Sep 08, 2009
7:24 AM
Beats me - I wasn't in the stamp part of it. I do remember being able to buy anything that was in the stamp catalog at cost - that was cool.


Post a Message



(8192 Characters Left)