Carillon Park: Crossroads of Innovation
By Giles Kennedy
In partnership with Ohio Valley Rails
Family and Travel Columnist
Columbus Wired
My family and I visited Carillon Park in 2021, shortly after travel restrictions were lifted (due to COVID-19)
With the broadest options of travel and exploring back in 2023; an already vast collection of history was preparing to grow.
Basic Info on Visiting Carillon Park
Hours of Operation*: Monday – Saturday: 9:30am-5:00pm, Sunday: 12:00pm-5:00pm (*Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day)
Admission: $14 per adult (ages 18-59), $12 per senior, $10 per child (3 –17), Children under 3 and Dayton History members are FREE
937-293-2841
1000 Carillon Boulevard, Dayton, OH 45409
About Carillon Historical Park (from Carillon Park’s website)
“Carillon Historical Park celebrates how Dayton, Ohio, changed the world. The Gem City is home to the airplane, the automobile self-starter, the cash register, the first internationally acclaimed African American poet, the National Football League’s inaugural game, and so much more. By the turn of the 20th century, Dayton had more patents, per capita, than any U.S. city, and one-sixth of the nation’s corporate executives had spent a portion of their career at legendary Dayton company National Cash Register (NCR).
Dayton’s extraordinary history has undoubtedly impacted billions of lives. With a hand-carved carousel, 4-D theatre, trains, slides, living history experiences, thousands of artifacts, extensive educational programming, and so much more, Carillon Historical Park brings Dayton’s past to life in a way that is fun for the whole family! Here are some highlights
- At 151-feet, with 57 bells, the limestone Deeds Carillon—the Park’s namesake—was designed by Reinhard & Hofmeister, the same architectural firm responsible for Rockefeller Center. It is Ohio’s largest carillon and one of the largest carillons in the nation. The grounds surrounding the carillon and the Park’s entry gates were designed by the Olmsted Brothers, the famed landscape architects responsible for Central Park
- The John W. Berry Sr. Wright Brothers Aviation Center has more Wright artifacts on display than any place in the world, including the 1905 Wright Flyer III—the only airplane designated a National Historic Landmark, the world’s first practical flying machine, and what Orville considered the Wrights’ most important aircraft.
- Carillon Brewing Co. offers visitors a glimpse into 1850s-era Dayton through the authentically prepared food and drink of the times. It is the nation’s only fully operational production brewery in a museum.
- Housed in the Heritage Center of Manufacturing & Entrepreneurship is the beautiful, hand-carved Carousel of Dayton Innovation; an extensive collection of antique NCR cash registers; a 4-D animatronic theatre; and the original Deeds Barn, the storied building where Charles Kettering and the Barn Gang built the automobile self-starter, changing transportation as we know it.
- The James F. Dicke Family Transportation Center displays the 1835 B&O #1, John Quincy Adams, the oldest existing American-built locomotive; the gorgeous and opulent 1903 Detroit & Mackinac Passenger Car #100 (built by Dayton company Barney & Smith); an 1843 Conestoga wagon; a 1904 interurban; a 1923 B&O caboose; and many fascinating transportation artifacts.
- Our Great 1913 Flood exhibit tells the story of Ohio’s worst natural disaster and the remarkable story of Dayton’s recovery.
- Carillon Historical Park is home to over 30 historic structures and cares for over three million artifacts.
Personal insight from my family’s visit……
Myself, my wife and daughter visited the 1st weekend of June 2021. This is a great day trip nearly an hour and half away from most parts in Metro Columbus.
I was volunteering at an event in April 2023. Many new additions have come and are in the works.
In addition to the ⅛ scale Carillion Rail and Steam Society’s ride on railroad…a real live railroad traverses the property.
My wife and I celebrated our 16th anniversary on the weekend of their Rail Festival in June 2023.
On top of the two rail operations; vendors, modelers, food trucks, and many exhibitors were there for the weekend.
Carillon Park hosts many seasonal and regional events for the whole family.
Visit their website or Facebook page for more details
https://www.daytonhistory.org/learn/carillon-park-railroad/
The site is south of Downtown Dayton, near the University of Dayton athletic facilities. The park property lies right along the Great Miami River near Interstate 75. This allows easy access to Carillon Park, as well as 8 other history sites. These are managed by Dayton History, an area-wide history group preserving Dayton’s heritage.
It used to represent area railroads; as well as allowing guests to tour the property.
The inside entrance area had access to the display hall and the children’s area. This offers galleries showing the history of General Motors, Delco, the National Cash Register Company and others.
The “village” offered a timeline of setter life, early commerce and transportation.
Several restrooms were available throughout the 65 acres. On site as mentioned earlier; the Wright Brothers National Historic Site showed a window into the inventive duo.
A replica of their iconic bicycle shop, family history, and a nearly 60% original Wright Flyer were among this great hall.
If hungry, fear not.
Carillon Brewery offers a variety of pub style food for the whole family. They also offer non alcoholic and adult beverages brewed on site.
Culp’s Cafe offers more of a diner/streetcar motif to visitors. It has been a favorite for many years.
https://www.daytonhistory.org/visit/shop-dine/carillon-brewing-co/
https://www.daytonhistory.org/visit/shop-dine/culps-cafe/
Various insights into transportation, industrial and commercial Dayton history lined a winding “Main Street”. This allowed many visitors to select whenever they wish to explore.
This park, Dayton History affiliated sites and many other attractions could offer a weekend or week full of excitement and education.
The city was once known as the “City of 1000 Factories”. It truly is a city of 1000 attractions, as well as a crossroads of innovation.
A more full photo album is available on our FB page
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=ColumbusWired&set=a.730462962420352
A video tour is courtesy of our partners at Ohio Valley Rails via their YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR4rpgzMpCs&t=28s
