Dayton Hidden Gems You Must Check Out

by Evelyn Davidson

Whether you’re visiting or you live here – from history, to culture, to helping to grow the community – these companies and organizations get our pick as Gems in the local Dayton area.

High-Street Gallery

Looking for artwork from local vendors? The High Street Gallery is a must-see! Located in a historic Victorian House was turned into a gallery in the late 1960’s. The DSA has served area artists since 1938 and continues to fulfill its mission of supporting, connecting and educating artists and the community. The gallery is always free and open to the public, with 7 exhibitions per year.

Learn more about High Street Gallery.

Dayton International Peace Museum

Founded in 2004, the Dayton International Peace Museum is the only museum in the US dedicated to peace honoring the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended war in Bosnia. Located in downtown Dayton, the museum is housed in the Issac Pollack House, a 3 story historic structure built in 1877. Its mission is to inspire a local, national, and international culture of peaceDayton International Peace Museum raises awareness of nonviolent strategies for achieving peace now and in the future.

Learn more about Dayton International Peace Museum.

SunWatch Archeological Center

Intertwining culture and history, SunWatch Archeological Center allows you to journey back in time to discover Dayton’s earliest neighborhood! SunWatch is the site of an 800-year-old American Indian Village situated along the banks of the Great Miami River. Discovered by local amateur archaeologists, the site has been excavated and studied since 1968, and was opened to the public in 1989. SunWatch features an Interpretive Center and reconstructed Village, as well as prairie with native grasses and other plants

Learn more about SunWatch Archeological Center.

K12 Gallery & Tejas

If you’re looking for a way to unleash your creative side – then you definitely will want to check out the K12 Gallery & TEJAS located in the heart of Dayton at 341 S. Jefferson Street. The K12 Gallery & Tejas is an artist-centered regional visual arts center offering art classes, in school and after school hands-on making programs, summer art camps, field trips, professional exhibitions, public art, workshops, community outreach, and art parties for all ages. Professional artists also lead low-income students, youth on probation, adults with disabilities, prisoners, and survivors of violence achieve equal access to experience the educational and healing quality of the arts.

Learn more about K12 Gallery & Tejas.

AVRO car

Is it a bird, plane or is it a flying saucer? Maybe it’s the AVRO Car! The Avrocar was a vertical take off and landing aircraft (VTOL) built in 1959 as part of a secret U.S. military project carried out in the early years of the Cold War. In the air, the Avrocar distinctly resembled a flying saucer. Two prototypes were built as “proof-of-concept” test vehicles, before building a more advanced USAF fighter. Though the Avrocar was made to fly up to 190 km/h and it was believed with some modifications the project was salvageable, funding ran out and the project was canceled in September 1961. Scheduled for restoration and display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center the Avrocar has been loaned to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The reproduction was prepared for the 2002 TV production, Avrocar: Saucer Secrets from the Past.

Learn more about AVRO CAR.

GemCity Market

New to the Dayton area is the area’s first grocery cooperative! Located on Salem avenue, Gem City Market has an honorable mission to serve, engage, and empower our neighborhoods by providing affordable, high quality food in a clean and welcoming environment. Unlike typical grocery stores that are owned privately, grocery cooperatives offer community members / shoppers the opportunity to have ownership in the cooperative, and in doing so, provide input into products sold and the representing board.

Learn more about GemCity Market.

Sources:

https://gemcitymarket.com/
https://k12tejasgallery.org/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/dayton-ohio