But a new committee has been formed to evaluate the square located in the heart of downtown Dayton and help create a community vision and plan for its future.
Some community members think the square could once again become a special public space that reenergizes downtown, similar to Fountain Square in Cincinnati, Public Square in Cleveland and Campus Martius Park in Detroit.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
“Given the strong economic momentum in downtown Dayton, now is the perfect time to get started,” said Chris Kershner, president and CEO of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.
But achieving that may not be easy or cheap, since remaking public squares in other urban centers often took years of work and some projects cost tens of millions of dollars.
Organizing a vision
The Downtown Dayton Partnership and the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce have formed a stakeholder committee to take a close look at Courthouse Square.
The committee, which is chaired by CareSource CEO and President Erhardt Preitauer, is expected to “engage” a consultant to review the physical condition of the property and identify potential repairs for stabilization.
The committee also expects to work with a consultant to help develop a vision and a community plan to transform the public space, which was created in the 1970s.
City officials in the 1970s said they hoped Courthouse Square would do the same wonders for downtown Dayton as Fountain Square did for downtown Cincinnati.
Courthouse Square was developed by John Galbreath, a Columbus developer who also was involved in projects at Fountain Square. A roughly $56 million project, it was supposed to help revitalize downtown while creating jobs and generating income tax revenue for the city.
Years after opening, Courthouse Square was declared one of the most successful urban renewal projects of its time in Dayton by a variety of local elected officials and community members.
But Courthouse Square today is underutilized and has fallen into disrepair, according to leaders with the Downtown Dayton Partnership and the Dayton chamber of commerce. They say its current state does not reflect the business growth downtown and does not help with ongoing revitalization efforts.
The Downtown Dayton Partnership and the Dayton chamber say there are great models and success stories across the country that the committee will look at as it tries to make Courthouse Square an economic asset that contributes to downtown Dayton.
Fountain Square
Like Courthouse Square, Fountain Square is located in the heart of its city’s central business district.
Though the square was dedicated in the 1870s, it was reimagined and reconstructed about 100 years later, and the iconic 43-foot-tall bronze and granite fountain was moved out of the roadway.
The remade Fountain Square was meant to be a premiere gathering space and the centerpiece of downtown Cincinnati. But over time, it became rundown and underused.
Fountain Square underwent about $49 million in additional renovations in 2005 and 2006, and the two-acre plaza was turned into what supporters say has become the thriving epicenter of downtown.
The property now has a concert stage, a large LED video board, lots of seating and an ice rink and a warming tent during the cold weather months. The square has free wi-fi, a bar, concessions and popular restaurants.
The square has helped attract hundreds of millions of dollars in new private investment to the surrounding area, says 3CDC, a non-profit real estate development company that manages and oversees programming at the property.
Fountain Square is Cincinnati’s “living room” and has programming virtually every night, said Gregory Parker Rogers, a partner with Taft law firm in Cincinnati and the author of “Fountain Square and the Genius of Water: The Heart of Cincinnati.”
Fountain square acts as a magnet, he said, and many people take their lunch breaks at the property. Downtown visitors stop by for the sights, entertainment, food, drink and other offerings.
Rogers graduated from Centerville High School in 1982, and his father used to work in downtown Dayton back when Courthouse Square’s office towers were home to Mead’s corporate headquarters and Dayton Power & Light’s offices.
Things have changed a lot since then, and Rogers said he did not see much street-level activity in downtown Dayton the last several times he visited.
Rogers said he does not think a public space on its own is a big draw that will bring people downtown. He said these kinds of spaces need restaurants, bars and other amenities and attractions.
Cities across the Midwest and the nation have created or reactivated public squares and plazas.
Public Square in downtown Cleveland underwent $50 million in renovations in 2015 and now has a café with outdoor seating, a large lawn and a mirror pool and hosts hundreds of events all year round. Most automobile traffic was shut down in the the square, which is often called downtown Cleveland’s premier outdoor venue.
Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit was overhauled in 2004, and the $20 million project helped create a space that attracts roughly a million visitors each year.
The 1.6-acre site has grassy lawns, gravel walkways, a fountain, sculptures, an “urban beach,” greenspaces, stages and an ice skating rink in the winter.
Courthouse Square changes
When Courthouse Square was developed and constructed decades ago, city officials and developers said it would be the central link and the visual focal point of downtown.
The old courthouse, located at the southeast corner of the property, was supposed to be the centerpiece, equivalent to the fountain at Fountain Square, Earl Sterzer, then Dayton’s development chief, said in 1973.
Courthouse Square today has three office buildings, the courthouse, a stage, benches and tables, terrace seating and a fountain, which hasn’t worked since 2019.
It still has below-ground commercial spaces that once housed restaurants, but they’ve been empty for a long time and the area is closed to the public.
Dudley Kircher, who 50 years ago was the director of the Dayton Development Council, said at the time that Courthouse Square would strengthen the spine of downtown — Main Street — and give the city a feeling of being “on the move.”
“We’ve had a negative image now for several years,” he said. “Courthouse Square will be a sign of progress, a sign that Dayton is a very healthy city for business.”
Some city officials and community members said Courthouse Square was the project that could make or break downtown.
By the 1980s, Courthouse Square was regularly bustling and hosted concerts, community events, protests, food vendors and even “crab races,” a “growling competition” and a look-alike contest with the award going to the person who most closely resembled a character on the hit TV show “Hill Street Blues.”
Events called “Affair on the Square” were held every few weeks that were well attended, in large part by downtown workers who swung by after work.
Some prominent community members called Courthouse Square downtown’s “people place” and believe it had a bright future as an entertainment complex.
Future potential
Courthouse Square was developed as part of a vibrant, street-level network of civic investments in downtown, said John Gower, an urban designer with the city of Dayton and CityWide.
Other projects included the construction of the Dayton Convention Center and Dave Hall Plaza, a park just north of the convention facility.
But in some people’s eyes, the square did not become the activity hub they hoped it would become because of decisions by the corporate tenants.
They decided to use and fill the lobbies and first-floor spaces with banks, airline ticket offices and similar kinds of businesses, Gower said.
This meant the buildings did not contribute in major ways to street-level vibrancy, like restaurants, bars and retail would have, Gower said.
But looking to the future, Gower said Courthouse Square could benefit from some first-floor activation, to possibly include restaurants, bistros, breweries or cafés with outdoor seating or areas.
“We need activity there,” he said.
Renovating and reactivating Courthouse Square would improve the street-level experience and vibe, Gower said, which hopefully would spark new economic development and help renew interest in the surrounding commercial spaces, like the upper floors of underused office towers.
Gower said other civic amenities on Main Street have been revitalized or will be updated soon, including Dave Hall Plaza, which was turned into Levitt Pavilion Dayton, a popular free music venue.
Construction has started on a $31 million renovation of the Dayton Convention Center, the Dayton Arcade across the street from the square is being rehabbed and other projects are in the works.
A refreshed public square hopefully would be able to create activity on its own, even when there’s no programming going on, Gower said.
Crystal Strickland, 41, who works at the Reibold building near Courthouse Square, spends her lunch break at the square most days of the workweek in the warmer months.
Strickland, who grew up in Dayton, said Courthouse Square does not have the food options and foot traffic it once did, but she can tell people are trying to make it a community space.
“I can remember growing up there used to be so many activities and food trucks, but a lot of things have changed over the years,” she said. “There’s not a lot of businesses down here, like there used to be.”
Strickland said the square has music, games and pleasant sitting areas, but it would be far more popular if it had things to do for people of all ages and demographics.
She said it would benefit from more food and beverage offerings, like a restaurant or café.
“It’s a nice place, but they’ve got to have more stuff to draw people in,” she said.
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