84 Linden Ave

Style: Queen Anne

Date Built: c. 1891

Description: Slate roof with different shapes of shingles; fish scale shingles in dormer, along with ornamented triple window. Tower with differently sized windows and stone banding. Asymmetrically placed porch.

History: Built on land owned by Samuel Craighead, an attorney, banker, railroad and land investor

The house, built of four courses of brick on the exterior walls and three on the interior walls, took approximately three years to build. In 1894, Craighead sold the house to Henry and Bertha Zwick, who were the first people to actually live in the house. Henry was Vice-President of the Zwick Wheel and Hub Co., once located on Linden Avenue where Hewitt Soap is now located. Bertha Zwick was a teacher in the Dayton Public Schools.

Subsequent owners included John T. Reese, who lived there until 1910, and Valentin and Mary Grusenmeyer, who occupied the house until 1922.  After the Grusenmeyers, the house became a rooming house.
Over the years, the interior of the house as been altered extensively to accomodate is changing uses; but the gracious details of its interior remains true to the lavish Victorian lifestyle, just as its tower and balcony are representative of the period's expression of romanticism
The tower is aA prominent exterior feature with windows of different sizes and stone banding. Inside, you’ll find plenty of carved, golden oak woodwork. There's a beautiful original fireplace in the upstairs front bedroom with very nice peach and aqua tile around it.