The Dunbar Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district on S Paul Laurence Dunbar Street in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. The district is famous for being the home of

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

. On June 30, 1980, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

A larger area known as ''Wright-Dunbar'' (or Mound-Horace) is bounded roughly by

US 35 U.S. Route 35 (US 35) is a United States Highway that runs southeast-northwest for approximately from the western suburbs of Charleston, West Virginia to northern Indiana. Although the highway is physically southeast-northwest, it is nomin ...

, Broadway Street, West Third Street and the

Great Miami River The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accesse ...

. This district has also been known for housing many ethnic groups such as

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

, and

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the Wright-Dunbar area was known as the cultural and commercial center of Dayton's African American community. Many black-owned stores, shops, and theatres gained popularity in Dayton, such as the "Palace Theatre". Decades later, in the 1950s and 1960s, much of the area was damaged during

riots A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

, and the construction of

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

. Later, through an effort by the city of Dayton and the county, many of the houses in the district were brought back to life again.

References

External links

Preservation Dayton

Welcome to Wright Dunbar, Inc. , Wright Dunbar

* ttps://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060816-2.html Mrs. Bush's Remarks After Visit to Wright-Dunbar Village* https://web.archive.org/web/20070929031037/http://www.projdel.com/Wright-Dunbar.pdf
HUDUSER Survey
National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Ohio Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Neighborhoods in Dayton, Ohio {{MontgomeryCountyOH-NRHP-stub