{"nrhp_refnum":"100009613","name":"Steele's Hill-Grafton Hill Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["Belmonte Park Historic District","Grafton Hill Historic District"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Grand, Plymouth, Forest, and Salem","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dayton","county":"Montgomery County","state":"OH","lat":null,"lon":null,"geom_source":null},"listed_date":"2023-12-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district of roughly 120 houses plus churches, a school, apartment buildings and two civic landmarks, on Steele's Hill (Belmonte Park) in Dayton, Ohio, north of the Miami River. It covers about 70 acres and is also known as Grafton Hill.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is architecturally significant for its high-style Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, Neo-classic and Craftsman houses, many among the finest of their kind in Dayton and highly intact. It is historically significant as part of Dayton's first successful suburban expansion north across the river, developed by and for rising professionals and business leaders. The Dayton Art Institute and Masonic Temple reinforced its prominence.","narrative":"Grafton Hill is a residential neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio, on the rise once called Steele's Hill and platted in 1875 as Belmonte Park by farm implement manufacturer John Stoddard. About 120 houses, shaded by large maples and often paired with rear carriage houses, display Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, Neo-classic and Craftsman designs. Other buildings include Longfellow School from 1882, Northminster Presbyterian Church from 1902, the terra cotta Miller Building and Delux Apartments from 1926, several early 1920s apartment blocks, the Dayton Art Institute and the Masonic Temple. The district was listed because its houses are among the finest of their styles in the city and remain remarkably intact. It also records Dayton's earliest successful suburban growth north of the Miami River, built for manufacturers, executives and professionals. The elevated site stayed attractive after the 1913 flood, and the neighborhood remained prestigious until a decline in the 1950s.","period_of_significance":"1880-1925","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Queen Anne, Tudor Revival (Jacobethan), Neo-classic, Craftsman","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as largely unaltered and in excellent to good condition, with a few modern intrusions; the district declined in the 1950s and has an active neighborhood association.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.424511-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/86001237.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990426","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/montgomery-county/steeles-hill-grafton-hill-historic-district-boundary-increase-100009613/"}