Webster Station in Dayton in Montgomery County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Parks by the River

Photographed by Pete Skillman, June 26, 2025

1. Parks by the River Marker

Inscription.

Parks by the River. . Championed by John Patterson, the founder of the National Cash Register Corporation, civic improvement had taken hold in Dayton during the late 19th century. By hiring Frederick Law Olmsted, a leader of the City Beautiful Movement to develop a landscape plan for the NCR Campus, Patterson brought to Dayton this urban reform philosophy, with its aims of beautification, landscape design, and bringing monumental grandness.

In 1911, Olmsted's sons, John Charles and Frederick Law Jr., proposed a comprehensive plan for a park system for Dayton. The system would include public parks, playgrounds, public squares, smaller landscaped parks, and recreation areas extending along the rivers, all brought together by a network of tree-lined parkways. Dayton's bridges were key to extending the parkways across the river banks in order to knit together various neighborhoods.

1905

Third Street concrete arch bridge completed

1906

New Washington Street concrete arch bridge constructed

1907

Dayton enters the automobile age - the Stoddard Dayton is the first car manufactured in the city

1909

Dayton View concrete arch bridge opens to public

1911

Stewart Street Bridge construction under way

1911

Citizens, led by John Patterson advocate for filling the Miami Erie Canal; Olmsted Brothers propose the first comprehensive plan for a park system for Dayton

1913

Great Flood devastates Dayton and other cities in the Miami Valley. Dayton's concrete arch bridges survive even as many others are washed away

1913

Dayton becomes the first large city in the US to adopt the Council-City Manager form of government

1915

Miami Conservancy District formed in Dayton

1916

Webster Street concrete arch bridge, the first constructed after the flood, opens

1917

Keowee Street-North Ridge concrete arch bridge opens to traffic
Fifth Street concrete arch bridge completed

1920

Dayton's population grows beyond 150,000

(Caption):

The Olmstead Plan for parks and Parkways, City of Dayton, 1911

Championed by John Patterson, the founder of the National Cash Register Corporation, civic improvement had taken hold in Dayton during the late 19th century. By hiring Frederick Law Olmsted, a leader of the City Beautiful Movement to develop a landscape plan for the NCR Campus, Patterson brought to Dayton this urban reform philosophy, with its aims of beautification, landscape design, and bringing monumental grandness.

In 1911, Olmsted's sons, John Charles and Frederick Law Jr., proposed a comprehensive plan for a park system for Dayton. The system would include public parks, playgrounds, public squares, smaller landscaped parks, and recreation areas extending along the rivers, all brought together by a network of tree-lined parkways. Dayton's bridges were key to extending the parkways across the river banks in order to knit together various neighborhoods.

1905

Third Street concrete arch bridge completed

1906

New Washington Street concrete arch bridge constructed

1907

Dayton enters the automobile age - the Stoddard Dayton is the first car manufactured in the city

1909

Dayton View concrete arch
Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online
bridge opens to public

1911

Stewart Street Bridge construction under way

1911

Citizens, led by John Patterson advocate for filling the Miami Erie Canal; Olmsted Brothers propose the first comprehensive plan for a park system for Dayton

1913

Great Flood devastates Dayton and other cities in the Miami Valley. Dayton's concrete arch bridges survive even as many others are washed away

1913

Dayton becomes the first large city in the US to adopt the Council-City Manager form of government

1915

Miami Conservancy District formed in Dayton

1916

Webster Street concrete arch bridge, the first constructed after the flood, opens

1917

Keowee Street-North Ridge concrete arch bridge opens to traffic
Fifth Street concrete arch bridge completed

1920

Dayton's population grows beyond 150,000

(Caption):

The Olmstead Plan for parks and Parkways, City of Dayton, 1911

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Bridges & Viaducts • Disasters • Industry & Commerce • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1911.

Location. 39° 46.081′ N, 84° 11.011′ W.

Parks by the River Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Pete Skillman, June 26, 2025

2. Parks by the River Marker - wide view

Marker is in Dayton, Ohio, in Montgomery County. It is in Webster Station. It is on Water Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 441 Water St, Dayton OH 45402, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Miami Valley.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: After the Flood (here, next to this marker); Bridges Under the Water (here, next to this marker); Dayton and its Bridges 1938 (here, next to this marker); A City Upon Rivers (here, next to this marker); Bridges for a New Era (here, next to this marker); Josef Melan and The Melan System of Bridge Construction in America (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Webster Street Bridge Over Mad River

Paid Advertisement

(about 300 feet away); Dayton's New Bridges 2017 (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dayton.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 30, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware. This page has been viewed 90 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 30, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware.