The now-vacant Rayme/Burton building — also known as old Dayton City Hall — could soon become a mixed-use structure with apartments and storefronts if Stage 1 development plans are approved next month. The building has been an iconic landmark in the area since constructed by Burton Hazen in 1880.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, or IOOF, purchased the land for the Burton building in 1880. Dayton’s City Hall and city offices began meeting at the building sometime between 1880 to 1884.
Much like the plans for the building today, the Burton building was previously used as a multi-purpose space. A post office, barbershop, retail store, and private offices occupied the first floor. Dayton’s City Hall took residence in the back of the second floor, while the front portion held offices for the city marshal, city clerk, treasurer, property assessor, and engineer.
The four-story brick building is Italianate-style architecture (a popular 19th-century style inspired by the 16th-century Italian Renaissance) with a full basement, uncommon for the period. The landmark sits at the northwest corner of Sixth and Berry Streets. Â
The Orleans Development company, based in Covington, is proposing to redevelop the building into a mixed-use structure with 10 residential apartments and three storefronts. The developer plans for loft-style apartments made up of studios and one-bedroom units. In today’s terms, the building is in the eastern section of Dayton’s Central Business District.
Orleans Development has made plans for historic preservation because the building is an iconic landmark due to its association with the development and early governance of the city.
Current rehabilitation plans for the site found in the National Register of Historic Places registration form shows the developer is planning to utilize both state and federal historic tax credits to rehabilitate the space.Â
National Register criteria qualifying the property for the National Register listing, in this case, is the property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the region’s history.
The Dayton Planning and Zoning commission will hold an official meeting on June 16 to vote on the stage one development plans.
The IOOF sold 635 6th Ave. to the Knights of Pythias of Kentucky in 1907 for $9,000. The Knights of Pythias owned the property from 1907 to 1973, occupying the second and third floors of the building.
During part of the Knights of Pythia’s period of ownership, the building continued to house city offices and businesses.
Since its construction, the space’s use has evolved. The city’s first Kroger grocery store found residence in the Burton building in 1910. A billiard room and a notary public were located on the first-floor storefront in the 1920s. By the late 1920s, a millinery (women’s hat maker) and a tailor occupied the first-floor storefront, and Dayton’s City Hall left the space in 1927.
In 1973, the Knights of Pythias sold the building to Howard L. Barber, David L. Kaiser, and Ronal Schumacher for $16,000.
The Burton building has been home to a Pythian Temple, print shop, movie theater, attorney’s office, and an insurance agency, among other things, throughout its 142 years.
In more recent years, tenants left the building, and it sat vacant, causing its condition to deteriorate.
Before Dayton became the city that we know today, there were two separate cities
The city of Jamestown came first. According to the City of Dayton’s website, the city of Jamestown extended from the river to the north side of the current Eighth Avenue and expanded seven blocks between Berry and Clark Streets.
Then came Burton Hazen. He was one of the founders of the neighboring town known as Brooklyn. Brooklyn extended from the river to the north side of Eighth Avenue and from two blocks between Berry and McKinney Streets. Hazen was a part of Cincinnati steamboat builders, a lumber-yard owner, and a real estate developer.
In 1867, then-Gov. Thomas Bramlette approved the merger of the two cities, which became Dayton, named after Dayton, Ohio.
