Headquarters Building

Present day.

History

Visit the over 100-year-old Miami Conservancy District headquarters in downtown Dayton, Ohio. The three-story building, including basement, is built of Indiana (Bedford) limestone. Colonel Edward Deeds announced in July of 1915 that he would gift a headquarters building to the Miami Conservancy District. The building was designed and constructed in about six months, with staff moving in at the beginning of 1916. The lobby features original light fixtures, staircase and moldings. The first-floor ceilings are coffered and feature larger replicas of the original lighting fixtures.

In 2005, MCD recieved the Community Preservation Award of Merit from The Ohio Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society for the rehabilitation of the 1916 Miami Conservancy District office building, stating it was "an outstanding contribution to historic preservation in Ohio."

A Gift From Edward Deeds

In his letter to the Board of Directors, Edward Deeds wrote that “engineers from all quarters will be coming to the Miami Valley to study our work. We owe it to the people of the flood stricken valleys of the world to make this data complete and permanently available".

He determined that MCD must have a home of its own and quickly. For MCD to pay for a building would not be practical and “might not be understood by the public.”

So he decided to pay for the design and construction of the building with the only condition being that MCD would assume the annual care and maintenance expense.

He consulted with City Manager Wait and together they selected land at the corner of Monument and Jefferson with a frontage of 86 feet along Jefferson Street and 99 feet along Monument Avenue, opposite the “Log Cabin.”

The building would be about 40 by 80 feet with two stories and a basement.

“The upper story will be devoted to the principal office and large fireproof vaults where the valuable records and plans will be kept. This floor will continue to be the home of the District after the construction period is over.

“The first floor will be one large room and will be occupied by the draftsmen, computors and appraisal clerks. After the construction work is over, this room will be made into an historical room and museum to be open permananetly to the public. Here will be placed relief maps of the district, models of the works, photographs, plans and other valuable data, which will be of interest in years to come to the thousands of visitors who will come to see what has been done in the valley."

“The basement will be used as attesting laboratory for cement, soil, gravel and other materials as well as storage for instruments, camp equipment and supplies.

See The Original Letter (PDF)

Additions

While the Miami Conservancy District is dedicating to preserving the original design and historic details of the building, some additions have been made to the exterior property:

Confluence Sculpture

Gayle Price Jr., a former MCD Board Member, commissioned sculptor Bryan Holden to create this water droplet sculpture whose three main pieces represent the three rivers that come together in Dayton: The Stillwater River, Mad River, The Great Miami River.

In 2015, the Price family donated the sculpture to be placed at headquarters in loving memory of Gayle.

Showcasing Low-Impact Practices

On the side of the building a pocket park was installed in 2009 featuring sustainable design elements such as native plantings and pervious pavers. Two park benches and two tables with umbrellas are available to the public. The pocket park was designed intentionally to show an example of low-impact development.