Riverdale


If you cross the Main Street Bridge and travel north to the Great Miami Boulevard, you find yourself in the neighborhood of Riverdale. Once the site of thriving nurseries owned by George Heikes and G. R. Mumma, the area first caught the eye of developers as people began to move out from the downtown area in the mid-nineteenth century. Serious development began with the arrival of the streetcar in the 1880’s. With the electrification of the streetcar in 1888, the newly subdivided land quickly filled with small cottages, elegant Queen Anne style houses, and other Victorian homes which make up its historic streetscapes today. Riverdale became the stylish home to large numbers of new suburbanites seeking to escape the congested urban core for the greenspace at the city’s edge.

Churches and businesses soon sprang up to meet the needs of the growing suburban community. The Northminster Presbyterian Church (1884), the Memorial Baptist Church (1892), and the Riverdale United Methodist Church (1893) met the spiritual needs of its predominantly Protestant population, while Corpus Christi Church (1911) offered services to the smaller number of Catholics.

A wide assortment of businesses soon lined North Main Street for the convenience of the neighborhood. The presence of numerous drug stores, groceries, hardware stores and other small, family-owned businesses meant that residents did not have to venture far to meet everyday shopping needs. As time moved on, car dealerships joined the earlier businesses, reflecting the coming of the automobile age and the development of businesses which served a wider regional population. Many of these small businesses and dealerships still survive, serving both Riverdale residents and the Greater Dayton community.

Riverdale’s location beside the Stillwater and Great Miami Rivers and next to several large parks meant that residents enjoyed ample recreational opportunities. Canoeing was an especially popular pastime. In the early days, pillow-lined and victrola-laden canoes offered romantic interludes before the day of the automobile, and canoe competitions attracted large and enthusiastic crowds. At one time, five canoe clubs dotted the banks of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers. The last of these was the Dayton Canoe Club, founded in 1912. For many years, the annual Four of July Regatta drew over 30,000 spectators along Riverside Drive. Canoeing on the river, sporting events at McKinley Park, dances at Triangle Park, and swimming and boating at Island Park created shared recreational experiences which tightened community bonds and gave residents a rich heritage of lifelong memories.

Although Riverdale has been challenged by urban change, its residents continue to focus on its many assets, such as its closeness to downtown and the Stillwater and Great Miami River recreational corridor. Annual picnics and other activities strengthen ties and help to define community.


Points of Interest in Riverdale

FIRE HOUSE #14, 1422 North Main Street, housed the old Hose Company #14 from 1901 to 1979. In 1917, the company made the last run in Dayton with horse-drawn wagons. An excellent example of a Mission style fire house, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH, 1222 North Main Street, was founded as a mission of the First Baptist Church in 1892. In 1893, the church was built in the English Gothic style. It took on its present appearance when it was remodeled in 1914.

MR. MCGREGOR’S GARDEN, East Helena Street near North Main, was developed by the Riverdale Neighborhood Association as part of the Wegerzyn Horticultural Center’s “Grow With Your Neighbors” program. It is one of over twenty community gardens in the Greater Dayton area.

VAN CLEVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS, 45 West Helena Street, was built in 1893 and was named for Dayton’s first teacher and postmaster, Benjamin Van Cleve. Its unusual 1963 addition was built on “stilts,” providing open space beneath the building to maximize the use of expensive urban land.

CORPUS CHRISTI CHURCH, 529 Forest Avenue. The parish was established in 1911. Parishioners met in a room in the large commercial building at North Main Street and Forest Avenue until the present Spanish Mission style building was completed later that year.

DAYTON CANOE CLUB, 1020 Riverside Drive. In its heyday, the Dayton Canoe Club was one of five canoe clubs located on the banks of the Stillwater and Great Miami Rivers. In 1912, Riverdale resident Charlie Schaffer joined with fifty other prominent businessmen to found the Canoe Club, after the adjacent Stillwater Canoe Club (no longer in existence) closed its doors to new members.

NORTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 301 Forest Avenue, was founded in the mid-1880’s as the Riverdale Presbyterian Church. It became the Forest Avenue Presbyterian Church when the present building was completed in 1902. It took on its present name in 1970. With its elegant red sandstone facade and Tiffany Art Glass windows, it is an outstanding Dayton landmark.

WHITE-ALLEN CHEVROLET, 442 North Main Street, was founded by Hugh White and Don Allen at the corner of Main and McPherson Streets in 1935. It is now operated by Hugh White’s grandson, Tim White. To commemorate the dealership’s fiftieth anniversary in 1985, the name of the adjacent McPherson Street was changed to White-Allen Avenue.

TEMPLE ISRAEL, 130 Riverside Drive, was organized in 1850. Located on Salem Avenue for many years, it has moved to Riverside Drive to be more accessible to its large congregation.


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