Dayton was once the home of the “Battle of Gettysburg” Cyclorama, a 360 degree circular canvas painting that depicted “Pickett’s Charge,” a battle of the Civil War. The exhibit was hung in a 50 foot high, 16-sided wooden rotunda near the National Soldier’s Home. The illusion was completed with a foreground of real cannons, stone walls and fences jutting from the painting.
The exhibit opened in 1886 and lasted for four decades, but eventually could not compete with the popularity of motion pictures. In 1927, the Gettysburg Cyclorama shut its doors, the building was razed and its canvases placed in storage for possible future use. Unfortunately, a year later they were destroyed when the warehouse where they were being housed caught fire. All that remains is the street where it was located, Gettysburg Avenue.
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