Dayton Daily News Article from 11/12/00

McPherson Town

Sunday, November 12, 2000

DAYTON--Friendly. Open-minded. Comfortable. Supportive, clean and proud. Those are the words the residents use to describe their neighborhood. It's not just any neighborhood, but one that was almost destroyed in the early 1970s. McPherson Town once was a bunch of abandoned and dilapidated Queen Anne-style homes in a sea of crime. The buildings were scheduled to be razed to make way for high-rise apartments and commercial development. But community preservationists pushed against the downtown steel-and-glass expansion and eventually revived the long-forgotten neighborhood.

The smallest of Dayton's historic districts, McPherson Town is tucked into the corner of a horseshoe area formed by a bend in the Great Miami River, directly across the Main Street Bridge from Dayton's commercial core. Swampy McPherson Town was platted by Samuel McPherson in February 1845.

By the early 1900s, it attracted many of Dayton's middle-class citizens and more affluent residents who built large single- and two-family dwellings in the popular Queen Anne and Eastlake styles. But the Flood of 1913 devastated McPherson Town.

Weeks passed before the community rebuilt, but the flood had a lasting impact. Those who could afford to moved to newer suburbs on higher ground south of the city. By the 1920s the economic composition of the neighborhood had shifted to multiple-dwelling residences with landlords who didn't pay enough attention.

Still, it remained a pleasant, close-knit community in the 1920s and '30s. However, with the post-World War II flight to the suburbs, McPherson Town declined rapidly like many inner-city neighborhoods, and by the late 1970s it was one of Dayton's worst neighborhoods. Many wrote it off as a hopeless cause.

But things have changed and its residents are eager to explain the turnaround. A group of longtime residents and preservationists formed the McPherson Town Neighborhood Development Corp., and with the help of the city, a master redevelopment plan was written and renovation began.

In September 1993 the city neighborhood development group and businesses hatched a plan to bring the suburban concept of a "homearama," or neighborhood home show, to the inner city. It would become Dayton's first Rehabarama. Seven vacant and some condemned homes became showplaces and more than 5,000 visitors saw how public and private interests could work together to bring inner-city housing back to life. All the featured homes sold during event.

And McPherson Town residents kept that momentum going. They worked to put new Victorian-style homes on vacant lots and helped renovate a closed grade school into 20 apartment units. With 90 homes on six streets, McPherson Town continues to thrive and seems to be in a constant state of shedding its skin for a better one. Residents plan monthly outings, neighborhood picnics are a hit, and there even is a list of who keeps which streets clean.

A big smile comes across Julie Talmage's face when she exclaims, "I adore this community!" Talmage has lived in the neighborhood since 1995 with her husband Dave, who is the building superintendent at the Hawthorne School Apartments. Amy Morgenstern, who lives in the school, which was built in 1886, said, "I just feel so comfortable here. Everyone cares about the neighborhood, and that makes a huge difference."

The day before the neighborhood's annual home tour, brooms were being pushed and garbage bags were being stuffed. Griffin Rain, 3, was one of the street sweepers. A block over on McPherson Street, Marlese Durr was cleaning up in front of her apartment. Marjorie Search joined Durr in showing off the small apartment courtyard, complete with a fountain, bench and holiday lights. The two neighbors laughed together on the tiny deck they share. "Everyone knows each other and who is out of town. I feel safe in this neighborhood that is so close to downtown," said Durr.

McPherson Town homes don't have big yards, but nearly everyone has a porch, and that is where much of the socializing takes place. The Czeiszpergers were enjoying their dinner burritos out on front porch. "This is how we meet people and catch up on the neighborhood news," Amy Czeiszperger said. Her introduction to the area was a tour during one of her first dates with her husband, Patrick, who built many of the new homes and renovated the one they live in at Floral and McPherson streets. The couple likes the fact that they can walk to restaurants, theaters and Dayton Dragons ballgames from their home.As they finished their meal, Julie and Dave Talmage stopped by while trying out their new bikes. They said they don't get much biking done in the neighborhood because they always end up pausing to visit.

It is the people that make a true neighborhood, and no one knows this more than Collin Turnnidge, whose wife, June, died in August. "Every day, people brought over food. They weeded my garden and provided so much comfort," he said. "All my neighbors are kind and helpful. McPherson Town is a super place to live."

For more info contact Mame Burns at mame_burns@coxohio.com or at 937-225-2123.