Ohmer Garage
The Ohmer Garage at 26-34 E. 1st Street was built in 1927 and has an astounding Terra Cotta Facade that is in a state of advanced disrepair, and the facade's delicate elements are at risk of loss.
This building was recognized by Preservation Ohio as one of the most endangered historic sites in 2023.
The three story, five bay building is located on the south side of First Street between Jefferson and Main Streets. It shares its west wall with the Victoria Theatre located at the Main Street corner. The building is unusual in that, rather than being a simple commercial building as others associated with the automobile from the period were, Ohmer Garage is a classically embellished building. Terracotta pieces are actively falling from the facade with no attempt to fix/secure them. The building has been boarded up with a flat roof, so water damage is imminent. The building could easily be turned into viable retail space again, or even condos given close proximity to the theater and efforts to turn historic hotels in the area into apartments.
The following is a history written by Andrew Walsh of Dayton Vistas:
Ohmer was a prominent name in Dayton’s early commercial history.
Michael Ohmer initially arrived in Dayton in 1837 and as the city grew in the subsequent decades, so did his reputation as a business leader.
For decades Ohmer operated a successful furniture business which started at age 17 when he and friend J. B. Wagoner started making cabinets using $100 borrowed from banker Valentine Winters. (Decades later Winters’ grandson, also named Valentine, famously turned James M. Cox a loan for his Dayton Daily News Building (1910) because “newspapers don’t make money”).
As the furniture business grew it came to be located in a four-story brick building on East First Street next to the historic Victoria Theater.
Ohmer Furniture offered bureaus, chairs, beds, mattresses, mirrors, and upholstered furniture. In later years it also provided furniture for banks and other public buildings.
Ohmer’s sons eventually joined the business and after he retired in 1877 they continued it under the name of M. Ohmer’s Sons Co.
His sons were also involved in other ventures. In 1927, John F. Ohmer oversaw the building of the Ohmer Garage Building on the former site of his family’s furniture factory.
The three-story building is notable for the ornate classical detail on its façade which contains tiles of glazed architectural terra-cotta, a design unusual for a simple commercial building primarily used for parking.
It’s one of the oldest parking structures ever built in Dayton and is certainly the most interesting.
When it opened, the Ohmer Building operated as a parking and service garage, and also housed the Weckesser Radio and Electric Shop as well as the offices of the Ohmer Fare Register Co. of which John was president.
The Ohmer Fare Register Co. made ticket-printing machines, taximeters, and other time and distance recording instruments used by electric railways, bus and taxicab companies, and truck fleets. A variety of instruments was “on display at all times” at the Ohmer Building.
The structure operated as the garage until 1941 while another of the ground floor spaces housed a restaurant at one point.
Later the SWS Chevrolet agency then opened a dealership in the building from 1946 until 1958.
In the 1960s the structure was converted to a parking garage again, with ground-floor spaces used as offices. In 1968 the president of parking company PMI moved its headquarters to the building along with Metro Lease Inc., a car and light truck leasing agency.
Another first-floor tenant in the latter decades of the 20th century was Warwar Custom Tailors.
Eventually the entire building became vacant including the parking levels.
Today it is deteriorating and has been boarded up by the City of Dayton to prevent pieces of the façade from falling on passersby.
Michael Ohmer initially arrived in Dayton in 1837 and as the city grew in the subsequent decades, so did his reputation as a business leader.
For decades Ohmer operated a successful furniture business which started at age 17 when he and friend J. B. Wagoner started making cabinets using $100 borrowed from banker Valentine Winters. (Decades later Winters’ grandson, also named Valentine, famously turned James M. Cox a loan for his Dayton Daily News Building (1910) because “newspapers don’t make money”).
As the furniture business grew it came to be located in a four-story brick building on East First Street next to the historic Victoria Theater.
Ohmer Furniture offered bureaus, chairs, beds, mattresses, mirrors, and upholstered furniture. In later years it also provided furniture for banks and other public buildings.
Ohmer’s sons eventually joined the business and after he retired in 1877 they continued it under the name of M. Ohmer’s Sons Co.
His sons were also involved in other ventures. In 1927, John F. Ohmer oversaw the building of the Ohmer Garage Building on the former site of his family’s furniture factory.
The three-story building is notable for the ornate classical detail on its façade which contains tiles of glazed architectural terra-cotta, a design unusual for a simple commercial building primarily used for parking.
It’s one of the oldest parking structures ever built in Dayton and is certainly the most interesting.
When it opened, the Ohmer Building operated as a parking and service garage, and also housed the Weckesser Radio and Electric Shop as well as the offices of the Ohmer Fare Register Co. of which John was president.
The Ohmer Fare Register Co. made ticket-printing machines, taximeters, and other time and distance recording instruments used by electric railways, bus and taxicab companies, and truck fleets. A variety of instruments was “on display at all times” at the Ohmer Building.
The structure operated as the garage until 1941 while another of the ground floor spaces housed a restaurant at one point.
Later the SWS Chevrolet agency then opened a dealership in the building from 1946 until 1958.
In the 1960s the structure was converted to a parking garage again, with ground-floor spaces used as offices. In 1968 the president of parking company PMI moved its headquarters to the building along with Metro Lease Inc., a car and light truck leasing agency.
Another first-floor tenant in the latter decades of the 20th century was Warwar Custom Tailors.
Eventually the entire building became vacant including the parking levels.
Today it is deteriorating and has been boarded up by the City of Dayton to prevent pieces of the façade from falling on passersby.
This building was recognized by Preservation Ohio as one of the most endangered historic sites in 2023.
The three story, five bay building is located on the south side of First Street between Jefferson and Main Streets. It shares its west wall with the Victoria Theatre located at the Main Street corner. The building is unusual in that, rather than being a simple commercial building as others associated with the automobile from the period were, Ohmer Garage is a classically embellished building. Terracotta pieces are actively falling from the facade with no attempt to fix/secure them. The building has been boarded up with a flat roof, so water damage is imminent. The building could easily be turned into viable retail space again, or even condos given close proximity to the theater and efforts to turn historic hotels in the area into apartments.
The following is a history written by Andrew Walsh of Dayton Vistas:
Ohmer was a prominent name in Dayton’s early commercial history.
Michael Ohmer initially arrived in Dayton in 1837 and as the city grew in the subsequent decades, so did his reputation as a business leader.
For decades Ohmer operated a successful furniture business which started at age 17 when he and friend J. B. Wagoner started making cabinets using $100 borrowed from banker Valentine Winters. (Decades later Winters’ grandson, also named Valentine, famously turned James M. Cox a loan for his Dayton Daily News Building (1910) because “newspapers don’t make money”).
As the furniture business grew it came to be located in a four-story brick building on East First Street next to the historic Victoria Theater.
Ohmer Furniture offered bureaus, chairs, beds, mattresses, mirrors, and upholstered furniture. In later years it also provided furniture for banks and other public buildings.
Ohmer’s sons eventually joined the business and after he retired in 1877 they continued it under the name of M. Ohmer’s Sons Co.
His sons were also involved in other ventures. In 1927, John F. Ohmer oversaw the building of the Ohmer Garage Building on the former site of his family’s furniture factory.
The three-story building is notable for the ornate classical detail on its façade which contains tiles of glazed architectural terra-cotta, a design unusual for a simple commercial building primarily used for parking.
It’s one of the oldest parking structures ever built in Dayton and is certainly the most interesting.
When it opened, the Ohmer Building operated as a parking and service garage, and also housed the Weckesser Radio and Electric Shop as well as the offices of the Ohmer Fare Register Co. of which John was president.
The Ohmer Fare Register Co. made ticket-printing machines, taximeters, and other time and distance recording instruments used by electric railways, bus and taxicab companies, and truck fleets. A variety of instruments was “on display at all times” at the Ohmer Building.
The structure operated as the garage until 1941 while another of the ground floor spaces housed a restaurant at one point.
Later the SWS Chevrolet agency then opened a dealership in the building from 1946 until 1958.
In the 1960s the structure was converted to a parking garage again, with ground-floor spaces used as offices. In 1968 the president of parking company PMI moved its headquarters to the building along with Metro Lease Inc., a car and light truck leasing agency.
Another first-floor tenant in the latter decades of the 20th century was Warwar Custom Tailors.
Eventually the entire building became vacant including the parking levels.
Today it is deteriorating and has been boarded up by the City of Dayton to prevent pieces of the façade from falling on passersby.
Michael Ohmer initially arrived in Dayton in 1837 and as the city grew in the subsequent decades, so did his reputation as a business leader.
For decades Ohmer operated a successful furniture business which started at age 17 when he and friend J. B. Wagoner started making cabinets using $100 borrowed from banker Valentine Winters. (Decades later Winters’ grandson, also named Valentine, famously turned James M. Cox a loan for his Dayton Daily News Building (1910) because “newspapers don’t make money”).
As the furniture business grew it came to be located in a four-story brick building on East First Street next to the historic Victoria Theater.
Ohmer Furniture offered bureaus, chairs, beds, mattresses, mirrors, and upholstered furniture. In later years it also provided furniture for banks and other public buildings.
Ohmer’s sons eventually joined the business and after he retired in 1877 they continued it under the name of M. Ohmer’s Sons Co.
His sons were also involved in other ventures. In 1927, John F. Ohmer oversaw the building of the Ohmer Garage Building on the former site of his family’s furniture factory.
The three-story building is notable for the ornate classical detail on its façade which contains tiles of glazed architectural terra-cotta, a design unusual for a simple commercial building primarily used for parking.
It’s one of the oldest parking structures ever built in Dayton and is certainly the most interesting.
When it opened, the Ohmer Building operated as a parking and service garage, and also housed the Weckesser Radio and Electric Shop as well as the offices of the Ohmer Fare Register Co. of which John was president.
The Ohmer Fare Register Co. made ticket-printing machines, taximeters, and other time and distance recording instruments used by electric railways, bus and taxicab companies, and truck fleets. A variety of instruments was “on display at all times” at the Ohmer Building.
The structure operated as the garage until 1941 while another of the ground floor spaces housed a restaurant at one point.
Later the SWS Chevrolet agency then opened a dealership in the building from 1946 until 1958.
In the 1960s the structure was converted to a parking garage again, with ground-floor spaces used as offices. In 1968 the president of parking company PMI moved its headquarters to the building along with Metro Lease Inc., a car and light truck leasing agency.
Another first-floor tenant in the latter decades of the 20th century was Warwar Custom Tailors.
Eventually the entire building became vacant including the parking levels.
Today it is deteriorating and has been boarded up by the City of Dayton to prevent pieces of the façade from falling on passersby.
Help PDI bring Dayton's endangered historic properties back to life!
Our Endangered Properties Committee provides resources and raises funds to proactively stabilize and/or obtain control of these irreplaceable properties. Preservation Dayton maintains an annual list of the Ten Most Endangered properties for intervention, as nominated by you and selected by the Endangered Properties Committee. Visit our Top 10 Endangered Properties page to see the full list of other nominees. If you have an urgent request for an at-risk historic property, please contact us at [email protected].
Please donate today! Your contribution, large or small, will save Dayton's historic structures before they are lost forever.
Your contributions are 100 percent tax deductible and are dedicated solely to preserving Dayton's rich history. The Dayton Foundation processes all gifts and donations to the Preservation Dayton, Inc. Fund #8630, a component fund of The Foundation. You can contribute by clicking the ‘Donate’ button below which takes you to the Dayton Foundation secure website. Or mail your check to payable to "Preservation Dayton, Inc. Fund #8630" Preservation Dayton, P.O. Box 3614, Dayton, OH 45401.
Thank you for your support!
Our Endangered Properties Committee provides resources and raises funds to proactively stabilize and/or obtain control of these irreplaceable properties. Preservation Dayton maintains an annual list of the Ten Most Endangered properties for intervention, as nominated by you and selected by the Endangered Properties Committee. Visit our Top 10 Endangered Properties page to see the full list of other nominees. If you have an urgent request for an at-risk historic property, please contact us at [email protected].
Please donate today! Your contribution, large or small, will save Dayton's historic structures before they are lost forever.
Your contributions are 100 percent tax deductible and are dedicated solely to preserving Dayton's rich history. The Dayton Foundation processes all gifts and donations to the Preservation Dayton, Inc. Fund #8630, a component fund of The Foundation. You can contribute by clicking the ‘Donate’ button below which takes you to the Dayton Foundation secure website. Or mail your check to payable to "Preservation Dayton, Inc. Fund #8630" Preservation Dayton, P.O. Box 3614, Dayton, OH 45401.
Thank you for your support!
