The orchards that were part of the Fifth Street landscape in 1834 were covered with green trees dotted with red apples.
There used to be a very strong vinegar odor from those orchards just east of Keowee Street. The new “Vinegar Hill” sculpture, about 160 pounds of steel, serves to remind visitors to the St. Anne’s Historic District of that fact.
Nationally known sculptor Hamilton Dixon created the eye-catching marker with the help of 19-year-old Bakumba “BK” Elias and K12 Gallery for Young People students Tom Brotherton, Edward Finnicum and Cleveland Sumerlin.The article also mentioned "The 1600 Group" project at the former American Saloon....
“We bought the building at the end of October last year and hired a painting crew. We are looking for more investors to finish the inside,” said 1600 Group member Joe Dierkers, who is restoring an 1853 house the next street over. “We’re hoping someone will start a restaurant or a tavern for a neighborhood gathering place.”
Saturday was a huge success. We cleaned up 3240 pounds of debris or 1.62 tons, according to the scale at the incinerator. Please drive by and look. Everyone who showed up worked in the rain solidly for three hours, and without even a murmur of complaint.
Thanks to all who helped!
- Ruth
NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT FEATURED IN NATIONAL PUBLICATION
DAYTON - For one group of dedicated neighbors, an exciting project has led to national recognition. PRESERVATION magazine has featured the former JoJo's Cafe in their March 2011 issue, highlighting an effort that has been two years in the making. The property is located at 1600 E. Fifth Street in Dayton's St. Anne's Hill Historic District.
PRESERVATION is the award-winning magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the organization that works to revitalize communities and save historic places. The magazine offers lively writing by the nation's best journalists on controversies, trends, accomplishments, and events of importance to cities, towns, suburbs, and rural communities.
The building at 1600 E. Fifth Street was constructed around 1860 by James Sinkey, who operated a grocery store on the 1st floor and lived with his wife Mary in the two rooms on the 2nd floor. It housed a variety of retail uses until the 1930s when it became JoJo’s Café. The Cafe was well-known in Dayton for decades because of its pulled pork sandwiches. After JoJo's closed, the business changed names in the mid 1990s and continued as a neighborhood bar known as the American Saloon until closing in 2008.
This project came about because 29 concerned neighbors came together to purchase and renovate the vacant property. The process started in 2008 with an idea hatched by Brian Young, a resident of St. Anne’s Hill for several years. He thought that this property could be transformed into a neighborhood gathering spot. He called on Joe Dierkers, a long time Dayton commercial Real Estate Broker who had recently purchased a home in the area, to help with the acquisition process. They developed a plan, and with the support of their neighbors, formed a company called The 1600 Group, LLC.
Legal problems, title problems and on-again off-again negotiations caused many delays. Finally, the purchase was completed on October 22, 2010. The exterior work (with a few minor exceptions) was completed on December 7th, only 46 days later. The interior restoration is currently underway.
The 1600 Group is now seeking a business or investor to help bring the property back to a productive use for the benefit of the community. They want to ensure that the business that will be a positive force in the community. and help continue the revitalization
of the historic Fifth Street corridor. The St. Anne's Hill Historic Society is supporting the plan.
Dayton-based photographer Nicole Klein provided the photographs to the magazine.
The neighborhood of St. Anne's Hill is a historic community located one mile east of downtown Dayton, just beyond the historic Oregon Arts District. The area was part of the original out-lots of the city of Dayton, which were plotted in 1815 by Daniel C. Cooper, an early settler of the city. By the 1830's, the first documented use of the name "St. Anne's Hill" appeared in newspaper advertisements promoting the sale of nursery stock from a local greenhouse.
For more information, visit:
http://www.stanneshill.org
http://stanneshill.blogspot.com
Check out the previous posts on this topic - part 1, part 2, and part 3.
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Here's some history from one of the managing partners, Joe: James Sinkey bought the lot on land contract from the lawyer that platted the area, Thomas Smith, in the late 1840’s. He paid off the land contract in the late 1850’s. The building was built in 1860 as a residence and grocery store. He sold it to Mary Gerber in 1870. She leased it to John Rock in 1891 still as a grocery store and residence for $18 per month. My mother (age 91) tells me that she remembers it as JoJo’s Café when she was growing up. JoJo’s was well known for their hot pork sandwiches. It was still JoJo’s when the [prior] owner purchased it in 1997 for $91,400.Sometime after 1997, the building was re-named the American Saloon and survived as a ramshackle blue-collar bar until it closed in 2008. It was tied up in legal disputes between the building owner and the bar business for nearly two years. It is now being restored to help attract a new business to the neighborhood.
