Fire Blocks Historic District

Fire Blocks Historic District covers a group of mostly three- to six-story brick and concrete buildings in downtown Dayton, Ohio, one block east of Main Street. They were built to house small retail shops and light industry, and most went up after the 1913 flood and fire destroyed the area. The dominant look is the plain, functional Commercial style, but the district also includes the Georgian Revival Elks Building by architect Albert Pretzinger, the Kimmel Building by Robert Dexter, the city's only Gothic Commercial building in glazed terra cotta, a Gothic Revival church, and a few surviving Italianate buildings from the 1860s and 1870s. An early reinforced concrete building, the Beaver Power Building, dates from 1910. Developer Adam Schantz Jr. helped reshape the downtown skyline by building here. The district was recognized for its role in Dayton's industry, its architecture, and the story of the city's rebuilding, with a period of significance of 1865 to 1926. Twenty-three buildings contribute to its character.