Dayton City Beautiful Council Records

The Dayton City Beautiful Council was organized in 1965 to serve as a volunteer adjunct to Dayton city government. The Council was to consist of 35-44 members who would be organized as general body electing an executive committee and president. The Council was intended to assist in making Dayton a more livable and attractive community.

At first, the organization worked on a part-time basis, directing their efforts toward city-block beautification clubs and small neighborhood projects. In 1970, Sam Francis was hired as a full-time professional administrator. From this period onward, the council tended to confine local beautification projects to quarterly recognition awards. The bulk of the work done by the council now consisted of citywide projects designed to attract regional and national attention. The creation of the annual Riverfest celebrations and large public gardening programs are typical of the work undertaken by Francis and his successor Paul Wick.

By the early 1980's, the Council's active body of participants was diminishing, and the staff's major emphasis was on bringing professional outdoor sculptors to Dayton, Ohio for short-term CETA programs. By 1985, meetings were seldom held and less frequently attended.