{"nrhp_refnum":"75001499","name":"Dayton Women's Club","other_names":["Darst, Napoleon Bonapart, House","Steele, Robert, House","Steele"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"225 N. Ludlow St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dayton","county":"Montgomery County","state":"OH","lat":39.762995088000025,"lon":-84.19498488999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-02-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Education","Architecture","Social History","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Second Empire mansion at 225 North Ludlow Street in Dayton, Ohio, built as a Classic Revival house in 1845-1850 and remodeled in 1865. It is now the headquarters of the Dayton Woman's Club.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the house as an architecturally important example of a Classic Revival residence converted to Second Empire style, with well-preserved 1865 interiors. It is tied to Robert Steele, a long-serving Dayton civic figure, and to Napoleon Bonapart Darst, who remodeled it. Since 1916 it has served as a center for the city's women's literary, civic and social activities.","narrative":"Located at 225 North Ludlow Street in Dayton, this brick mansion began as a Classic Revival house built in 1845-1850 by Robert Steele, a longtime member of the Dayton Board of Education who also helped found the Dayton Library Association. In 1861 it was sold to merchant Napoleon Bonapart Darst, who extensively remodeled it in 1865 into a Second Empire Victorian with a slate mansard roof, a crested turret above the entrance, and bracketed metal cornice. Much of the 1865 interior survives, including Italian marble mantelpieces, parquet floors, carved white walnut woodwork, and ornamental plaster ceilings. In 1916, after a campaign led by Mrs. Joseph Crane and supported by her brother John H. Patterson of National Cash Register, Darst's heirs sold the house to the newly formed Dayton Woman's Club. A tearoom (1918-19) and an auditorium (1958) were added at the rear. The club still uses the building.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific dates 1845-1850; rebuilt 1865)","architect_builder":"Robert Steele (original builder); remodeled by Napoleon Bonapart Darst in 1865","architectural_style":"Second Empire (1865 renovation of a Classic Revival house)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition and altered; in use as a private club, with a tearoom added 1918-19 and an auditorium added 1958.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.22986-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001499.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001499/85853fe769-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001499/85853fe769-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dayton_Women%27s_Club.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dayton_Women%27s_Club.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100004316","name":"Downtown Dayton Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/downtown-dayton-historic-district-100004316/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990384","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton_Woman%27s_Club","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q58030568"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/montgomery-county/dayton-womens-club-75001499/"}