Fairview Park was one of five amusement parks that served patrons in Dayton, Ohio. The park was developed in 1897 at the northwest corner of Fairview Avenue and North Main Street. The park was a traditional "trolley" park since the old Main Street trolley line ended at Fairview Avenue.

The park featured a casino, a beach with a spring water lake, a water slide, a miniature train ride, theatre, baseball field and a swinger ride.The most popular ride was a figure eight roller coaster.

The theatre was used for plays and vaudeville. In 1897, the theatre showed a film of a boxing match between Jim Corbett and Robert Fitzsimmons that had originally taken place in Carson City.

The park advertised itself as “the park with a roof of trees.” Park became very popular for walks. Gambling was outlawed after 1910 and the bus line was extended further down North Main causing a decline in attendance. The emergence of the automobile also contributed to the park's ultimate closing.

The baseball field was home to the Dayton Velodrome from 1901-05 and the Dayton Old Soldiers from 1899 through the 1911 season. The field was also host to several national and international bicycle races were held.

The park closed in 1915.

The Dayton Public Schools purchased part of the property, filled in the spring fed lake and constructed the E.J. Brown School on the site.

The school opened its doors to students in 1916 and served the neighborhood as a K-6 school until 2003 when it was demolished. The underground spring that once fed the amusement park lake ultimately damaged the foundation to the school over the years.

 Fairview Park Photo Album

Photo credits: Top: soaphs file, T.Rhein, park archive.