Downtown Dayton Memorial Hall Montgomery County Ohio

January 15, 2018

Dayton Memorial Hall (update 2025)

On a cold December day in 2017, I had the opportunity to legally photograph Dayton’s Memorial Hall in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Dayton History owned and operated Memorial Hall for years. This historic building at the corner of First Street and Jefferson Street is now more than 100 years old and plays host to Dayton weddings and a few events throughout the year. Dayton’s Memorial Hall brings back many childhood memories for me.

As a kid in Dayton, I loved magic. We were lucky enough to live in a town that saw David Copperfield’s touring show. One year, I was sitting in the front row of the balcony when Copperfield asked for a volunteer. The orchestra pit floor was lowered, creating a walkway between the audience and the stage. Anyway, a man volunteered to come on stage. As he was crossing the bridge, he lost his balance and fell 10 feet into the pit. I remember medics taking him away. I do not recall if the show went on, but I vaguely remembering it did.

In 2018 I photographed a wedding ceremony in the grand lobby at Memorial Hall. I believe I had only been in the hall three times.

In 2025 Montgomery County was working on an operating agreement with an organization to run this facility.

Getting Up High At Dayton’s Memorial Hall

On this day, I thought that the employee would just turn on the lights and let me photograph from the auditorium. I was sorely mistaken. He showed me the auditorium and stage which are pretty cool. I love stages and photographing up into the ropes that once raised and lowered scrims. What blew me away was when he asked if I wanted to go up into the catwalks!

Backstage And On The Catwalk At Memorial Hall

We made our way backstage and into a stairwell. After climbing the stairs, I got my first look at a series of thin metal posts or thick wires (I couldn’t tell which) and a curved floor. What I then realized was that this was the ceiling of the auditorium. What? He was going to allow me to walk across the catwalk that goes between the auditorium ceiling and the roof. This was going to be epic. The catwalk moved slightly when walking on it, but it was safe. One of the coolest parts was looking through a square in the floor/ceiling. It was directly above the seats at the orchestra level! Wow. This was awesome!!

Check out my other Dayton commercial photography.