Dayton Art Institute - Dayton, Ohio - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

History from Wikipedia:

Founded in a downtown mansion in 1919 as the Dayton Museum of Fine Arts, the museum moved to a newly designed Edward B. Green building in 1930. The DAI was modeled after the Casino in the gardens of the Villa Farnese at Caprarola, and the front hillside stairway after the Italian Renaissance garden stairs at the Villa d'Este, near Rome, and Italy. It is also visible from and easily accessible from I-75, which passes through the center of Dayton.

The museum was later renamed the Dayton Art Institute as an indication of the growing importance of its school in addition to the museum. The nearly 60,000-square-foot building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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From the Ohio Historic Places Dictionary:

The Dayton Art Institute ranks as the finest example of Second Renaissance Revival in the state. The success of this building is derived fro three factors:

• the beauty of the building chosen by architect Edward Green on which to base the institute, the Villa Farnese regarded as the masterpiece of the famed architect Vignola (1507-1573),
• the faithfulness to even the smallest detail and strict adherence to the original principles of the Italian Renaissance period in the interior and exterior of the building, and
• the selection of the the site on a hill overlooking the Miami River curving through the city at that point and with a view of the downtown area.

It was built in 1930 and is approached by a monumental double-out-curving stair ascending to a landing with a wall fountain and a small pool.

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The museum now has a new main entrance on Belmont Park North on what was the back side of the museum building.

456 Belmonte Park North
Dayton, Ohio 45405
Phone: (937) 223-5277

Street address: Forest and Riverview Aves Dayton, Ohio USA 45402 County / Borough / Parish: Montgomery Year listed: 1974 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Education, Recreation And Culture - College, Museum Current function: Education, Recreation And Culture - College, Museum Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/05/2023 JuggerMom7 visited it 07/02/2016 stevepre2 visited it 02/03/2016 SweetPea57 visited it 09/19/2014 petendot visited it

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