{"nrhp_refnum":"86001237","name":"Steele's Hill-Grafton Hill Historic District (Additional Documentation)","other_names":["Belmonte Park 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":39.76692684650007,"lon":-84.20476959549502,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-06-05","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 about 70 acres in Dayton, Ohio, northwest of the Miami River, centered on Steele's Hill (Belmonte Park) and Grafton Hill. It holds roughly 120 houses, mostly from the 1880s to the early twentieth century, plus schools, churches, apartments and civic buildings.","why_significant":"The district is significant for its high-style Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, Neo-classic and Craftsman houses, which keep a high degree of integrity and are among the finest of their kind in Dayton. It also marks Dayton's first successful suburban expansion north across the Miami River, developed for the city's rising professionals and businessmen. The Dayton Art Institute and Masonic Temple further raised its prominence.","narrative":"Grafton Hill, also known as Steele's Hill or Belmonte Park, is a residential district of about 70 acres in Dayton, Ohio. It contains roughly 120 houses, many with rear carriage houses, shaded by mature maple trees. Most were built from the 1880s to the early twentieth century in Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, Neo-classic and Craftsman styles, and the nomination ranks several among the finest in the city. The district also includes Longfellow School (1882), Northminster Presbyterian Church (1902), the terra cotta Miller Building and Delux Apartments (1926), early 1920s apartment blocks, the Dayton Art Institute (1930) and the Masonic Temple (1929). Historically, the area records Dayton's first successful growth north of the Miami River, platted from the 1840s and developed by John Stoddard's Belmonte Park in 1875. Its early residents were manufacturers, merchants, attorneys and other business leaders. The district was listed for its architectural quality, its integrity and its place in the city's suburban development.","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 now 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 02:53:14.907978-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/86001237.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001237/7199b0cc1f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001237/7199b0cc1f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dayton_Masonic_Center.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dayton_Masonic_Center.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990426","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steele%27s_Hill%E2%80%93Grafton_Hill_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7605773"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/montgomery-county/steeles-hill-grafton-hill-historic-district-additional-documentation-86001237/"}