DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — If you look around Dayton, you’ll notice something beautiful: The city is brimming with unique architecture.
One local woman has made it her mission to show it to the world through her popular Instagram page, “Dayton_Architecture”.
“I’ve always really loved Dayton,” said Alex Jackson, owner of the page. “It’s always been home to me. I’ve lived here my whole life.”
It’s that love of Dayton that sparked Alex’s affinity for the city’s architecture.
“People take it for granted,” Alex said. “They don’t really look around. Something just as simple as a house is really a piece of art.”
Seven years ago, Alex started taking pictures of the buildings that interested her while she was out walking her dog.
“I just had them all kind of saved up on my phone and I figured I needed to do something with these, because I have too many of them,” Alex said.
That is how the “Dayton_Architecture” Instagram page was born.
“I thought if I find these buildings interesting, maybe someone else will find them interesting too,” Alex said.
And they certainly have. Seven years later, Jackson has about 18,000 followers. She says she never expected it to get this big.
“It kind of spread,” Alex said. “I have people like in Switzerland. And Japan. And it just kind of is mind-blowing to me.”
Part of the appeal of her page is her focus on the history of the buildings she features. She says there’s a lot of information out there.
“Preservation Dayton does a great job of putting history on their website,” Alex said. “And they have walking tours for a lot of the historic neighborhoods.”
But sometimes the learning actually comes from those who view her page.
“Some of them I don’t know the history,” Alex said. “People will chime in and say, ‘Oh, my great grandma lived there.'”
And that shared passion is what makes it all worth it.
“I think Dayton just has a really good core community of people that really care about its history and the people that live here,” Alex said.
You can view the “Dayton_Architecture” Instagram by clicking here.
