Originally, it was located at 970 Patterson Road, where the venue had 150 seats. The club only had comedy on Tuesdays for the first year and a half. As comedy became more popular, Thursdays were added.
Later came a move to the Oregon District. But now, after more than 42 years, the club has said it’s going to close.
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For this edition of Vintage Dayton, we went into the archives for stories about Wiley’s as it prepares for its final show.
• TODAY’S FEATURED STORY: Wiley’s Comedy Club, 42 years of making Dayton laugh
View more Oregon District history in these photo galleries
• PHOTOS: Fascinating vintage picture of Dayton’s Oregon District
• FROM THE ARCHIVES: 31 historic photos of the Oregon District
Did you know?
Here are a few great Dayton history facts we’ve learned from our stories:
• A successful Dayton actor got a boost with free lessons from his teacher at Jefferson
That’s what W. Dorian Harewood told the Dayton Daily News in 1974, when he landed the role of leading man opposite Bette Davis in a Broadway musical, an adaptation of the play “The Corn is Green,” then called “Miss Moffet.”
• The famous hamburger sauce from the Goody Goody restaurant is no longer a secret
In a wonderful “restaurants we miss” feature this week, we learned that Goody Goody finally caved in and released the recipe from the decades-long restaurant.
• An heir to the fortune of Dayton’s Yellow Pages pioneer was murdered in 1979
Marion Berry Fox Ouma was found shot to death near the Hoover Dam in January 1979. At first, the body was unidentified, but officials learned Ouma’s identity in 1981. The case remains unsolved.
• Dorothy Lane Market started as a fruit stand
It began on the corner of Dorothy Lane and Far Hills Avenue on Aug. 12, 1948.
• There was once a zoo at the Dayton Art Institute
Exotic Demoiselle cranes, toucans, swans and peacocks roamed outdoors among the statuary and swam in a pool. Inside, gold and blue cockatoos perched on branches next to Asian silk artwork.
We want your help!
Do you have any requests or ideas that you would like to see us cover in this history newsletter?
What about cool old photos or stories of your own?
Let us know and we’ll include them in future newsletters.
We sometimes get questions about how things around Dayton got their names. A reader asked recently about Brown Street in Dayton, one of the most well-known in the city. Who or what, they asked, was Brown? We went into our archives for the answer.
• Click here for our story: Who was Thomas Brown? Meet the name behind Brown Street in Dayton
Do you have other questions about how things got their names? We’re always looking for ideas.
And if you like what you’re getting each week in the Vintage Dayton newsletter, please consider subscribing to the Dayton Daily News for as little as 99 cents.
Thank you for reading.
