Is this Dayton’s ‘Magnificent Mile’? Work tries to make downtown experience like Chicago

Dayton will get a taste of the Windy City with the reconstruction of some downtown sidewalks to be more like those along Chicago’s famous “Magnificent Mile.”

The city of Dayton is upgrading the sidewalks and curbs on two blocks that border the Levitt Pavilion Dayton to add landscaping beds, decorative fences and other attractive touches.

The streetscaping improvements are among the first investments by the city to create a Main Street experience reminiscent of Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue.

MORE: Dayton Main Street overhaul takes cue from Chicago’s ‘Magnificent Mile’

Also known as the Magnificent Mile, North Michigan Avenue is a shopping and tourist district known for its wide sidewalks, eye-catching landscaping and distinctive pedestrian character.

“There’s no other Main Street in this region so we want to make it spectacular, we want to make it exceptional — so when you’re walking down it, you see something really different,” said Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein.

Last month, the city of Dayton approved a roughly $334,900 contract to improve the sidewalks on the 100 block of South Main Street and the first block of East Fourth Street.

MORE: What if Dayton street could look like Chicago’s ‘Magnificent Mile’?

The sidewalks are on the northern and western borders of the Levitt Pavilion Dayton, downtown’s new music amphitheater.

The city is paying to install flower beds in wrought iron fences and make various landscaping, streetscaping and lighting upgrades that greatly improve the pedestrian environment, Dickstein said.

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