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Twin Towers   he Twin Towers neighborhood, one of Dayton’s oldest suburbs, grew up in the 1850’s. St. Mary’s Catholic Church (1859) and Otterbein German United Brethren Church (1855) became the center of a large German population which emerged in the East End. The community also included many Jewish families who belonged to the House of Abraham synagogue than located on Wayne Avenue. This area, now bounded by Wayne Avenue, Wyoming Street, Steve Whalen Boulevard and Route 35, grew steadily as Dayton’s burgeoning industry provided employment for a rapidly expanding population. As the neighborhood grew, it developed a prominent business district centered on Xenia Avenue. Called “The Dutch Boulevard” after the area’s Germans, Xenia Avenue provided a vast assortment of family-owned businesses: groceries, hardware stores, clothing and jewelry stores, bakeries, beauty shops, and doctors’ offices. Everything could be found on the “Avenue,” which served the immediate area as well as the greater Dayton community. Several theaters, such as the popular Federation Theater, and many local taverns, valued as community gathering places, served the neighborhood’s recreational needs. Around World War II, the East End also became home to Appalachians who came north to work in Dayton’s booming war and post-war industries. In the 1960’s, as they were displaced by highway construction from other areas of Dayton, many more Appalachians found their way to Twin Towers. These new residents joined a tight-knit family and church-centered community, where all social, religious and consumer needs were met within the neighborhood’s boundaries. Cutting across the upper edge of the neighborhood, the construction of U.S. Route 35 in the mid-1960’s took out hundreds of properties, forcing many long-term residents and businesses to leave the area. The neighborhood answered this challenge by forming groups such as the Twin Towers Business Association and the WSWX (signifying boundaries Wayne, St. Paul, Wyoming and the expressway). Residents also joined with others in the East End to form the East Dayton Community Council, uniting to address common issues. In 1989, the St. Mary’s Development Corporation began an aggressive program of revitalization to meet the challenge of urban change. Today, the residents of Twin Towers draw on their heritage as a close-knit community by working together to achieve a successful future. Points of Interest in Twin Towers 
OTTERBEIN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH,
111 Xenia Avenue. In 1853, German Protestants settling on the East
Side began worshipping in the basement of the First United Brethren
Church on Sixth Street. The growing congregation built its first building
at Jones Street and Wayne Avenue in 1855, becoming the First German
United Brethren Church. In 1891, they moved to Xenia Avenue and Quitman
Street. The present complex, including a community center, was completed
in 1962. They became the Otterbein United Methodist Church in 1968.
SMALES PRETZEL BAKERY,
210 Xenia Avenue, began in 1908 when Rudolph Schaaf opened his pretzel
bakery on Brown Street. Operating in the Twin Towers area since 1927,
it is currently owned and operated by Charles Smales, great-grandson
of the founder.
COMPANY #7 FIRE HOUSE/AVANT GARDENS,
401 Xenia Avenue, is the oldest remaining fire house in Dayton. Built
in 1884, it operated until 1956. Since 1990, it has housed Avant Gardens
specialty florist.
DOEBLER’S BAKERY,
501 Xenia Avenue. Continuing a long history of bakeries at this site,
Robert and Geraldine Doebler opened Doebler’s Bakery in 1962. Today,
their tradition of distinctive pastries, baked from scratch, is carried
on by their daughter, Holly Doebler.
OSCAR BEILGEL & SONS JEWELERS,
505 Xenia Avenue, was founded by German immigrant Henry Beigel in
1900. In 1933, his son Oscar inherited the business, eventually passing
it on to his two sons. Today, it is operated by the third generation,
Nicholas and Raymond Beigel.
ST.MARY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH,
Xenia Avenue and Allen Street, was established in 1859. The beautiful
Romanesque style building was built in 1906, and was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It was part of a large
complex that included two school buildings (including Dayton’s
first parochial high school), the St. Martin’s Club House, a
parish house, a convent building, and a large playground. Today, it
continues to be a vital part of the Dayton community.
FEDERATION BLOCK,
500 block of Xenia Avenue, was built in 1927. A major anchor in the
prosperous Xenia Avenue commercial district, it housed businesses
such as the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (later the A&P),
Liberal Market, Gallaher’s Drug Store, Beerman’s Youth Center, White’s
Five and Dime, the Academy Bowling Alley and the Federation Theater.
Largely vacant by the early 1970’s, the Block was purchased by
Sam Redavide who began efforts to renovate the building.
WELLMEIER HARDWARE & GLASS,
600 Xenia Avenue. One of Dayton’s oldest businesses, Wellmeier Hardware
was established in 1882 as a neighborhood general store by Joseph
Wellmeier. With the expansion of Wellmeier’s into contracting, Joseph’s
son, Edward, soon became involved in the construction of numerous
Dayton buildings. Still in its original building, it is now operated
by the founder’s great-grandson, Louis Wellmeier.
XENIA AVENUE FEED & PET SUPPLIES,
624 Xenia Avenue, began as the Matusoff Feed Company in 1920 in a
former silent movie house. Morris Matusoff’s son, Jack, and his friend,
John Keechle, bought the business in 1946, expanding into several
surrounding properties. In 1994, the Xenia Avenue Feed & Pet Supplies
became a “wholesale only” business, with a satellite operation
in Indianapolis. It is the oldest IAMS distributor in the United States.
KASTLE ELECTRIC COMPANY,
809 Xenia Avenue. In 1925, Karl Kastle, working out of his garage,
began installing electric lighting in Dayton homes. His business grew
with the popularity of electricity, and in 1942 Kastle Electric moved
to its present location on Xenia Avenue, adding commercial contracting
in the late 1940’s.
THE ACE’S ATHLETIC & SOCIAL CLUB,
Inc., 720 Clover Street. In a rented three-room cottage on Fillmore
Street, seven young men organized the Ace’s Club in the late
1920’s as a place to gather and socialize. From these seven,
who paid fifteen cents a week dues, came the Ace’s Athletic and
Social Club, which was incorporated February 10, 1947. The club is
still active today.
LINCOLN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL,
401 Nassau Street, opened in 1895 at the corner of Dover and Demphle.
First called Schiller School, after a German philosopher, the name
changed to “Lincoln” in 1919 due to anti-German sentiment
during World War I. In 1929, Lincoln Junior High School opened in
the present building. Today, Lincoln Elementary is a magnet school
which utilizes individually-guided education.
ST. JOSEPH CHILDREN’S TREATMENT CENTER,
650 St. Paul Avenue. The St. Joseph Aid Society, organized in 1840,
was the first charitable organization in Dayton. An 1849 cholera epidemic
spurred the Society to establish foster care for orphans of Society
members. This became the St. Joseph’s German Catholic Orphan’s
Home, which was housed in a central residence built in 1873. Today,
St. Joseph Children’s Treatment Center provides housing and services
to children and adolescents from six Ohio counties and six states.BACK TO TOP |
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 Members
of the Ace’s Club bowling team at Academy Bowling Lanes on Xenia
Avenue (Courtesy of the Ace’s Athletic and Social Club, Inc.) |
