The Conover Building
The Conover Building was built in 1900 and has been used as
a commercial building since its completion. The Conover building is the second
skyscraper to be built in Dayton. It stands 13 stories tall and shows a variety
of decorative styles on its outer walls. During the 1913 flood many used the
building’s height to find safety.
At One point the corner on which the building stands gained
a reputation for being very dangerous not only for traffic but for crime as
well, because of this it was called, “The Corner of Chaos.”The crime was blamed
on the location of the bus hub nearby. The corner was regularly on the local news
for the rampant crime which took place there. Due to this bad publicity the
entire City of Dayton received a reputation for being dangerous. The Dayton Police Department looked at the
environment which bread crime to understand why the situation was happening.
Arrest data was used to discern the issues with the “Corner of Chaos”. After
the reorganization of the bus system crime was lowered.
In 1975 the Conover Building was admitted to the United
States National Registry of Historic Places. It was admitted on architectural
merit. The combination of brick, stone and terra cotta provide a unique
combination. There are also multiple styles on the exterior of the building.
Many of which are sub-styles of Neo-Renaissance Architecture. Neo-Renaissance
or Renaissance Revival Architecture is a broad definition of style which covers
many nineteenth century architectural revival styles, excluding Grecian or
Gothic Revival, which draw inspiration from classic Italian modes.
The Conover Building is one of Dayton’s landmarks.
Displaying an impressive set of architecture as well as a storied past. From disaster
survival to the solution to a crime issue this building has been many
interesting facets to Dayton’s history.
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