Resting on the corner of Davis and Linden Avenues, the Davis-Linden’s red brick facade has overlooked East Dayton since the late 1800s.
What started as a hub for local industry has transformed over the years to allow the addition of creative entrepreneurs within its hallowed halls. It is now called the Creative Commerce, or C2 Initiative.
When you walk into the 115,000-square-foot building, the sounds of its preserved, creaking floors transport you to its early years of production.
The Davis Sewing Machine Company moved into the building in 1889, leaving its mark on the now rippled floorboards — the signs of heavy machinery and the footfalls of employees hard at work.
Those historic floors now feel the footsteps of more than 85 tenants. Some are traditional businesses like electricians but there are also many artists, from photographers to musicians, to wood and glass workers.
Matthew Dieringer has been the building’s owner for 10 years and has spent about $500,000 to make sure those tenants will be part of that history for years to come.
That includes longtime tenant at the facility, Michael J. Bashaw whose musical sculptures have been produced and stored at the Davis-Linden Building for 45 years.
"My grandfather had a business here back in the 1950s and so when I was a kid he'd bring me over here so I was aware of the building," he said. "I was looking to move from a studio I was in somewhere else where I could do more large-scale sculpture work and was driving by and I thought, 'Well I'm just gonna stop and check and see.' So sure enough a space was available up here."
Bashaw said he has seen numerous tenants venture in and out of the space over the past few decades.
“Back in the day, there were machine shops and pattern makers and carpenters, and now there's a lot more, I think, diverse occupants," he said.
In his studio, Bashaw will often demonstrate how a number of his massive sound sculptures work.
Various pieces made of salvaged materials line the walls of his naturally lit studio space.
Old Sunbeam mixers, Italian doorbells and antique table legs sculpt a number of works that can still be played by the local icon.
Bashaw said one marimba sculpture is even made with 100-year-old rosewood bars.
"It's in the chromatic scale, so it's not like a regular marimba," he said, as he demonstrated its unique tonality.
Bashaw even has giant kalimbas in his space that were made back in 1986. But lately, he has been working more with aluminum, making tuning forks with the material.
Near the end of a musical tour at his studio, Bashaw showed how huge disks from Greenheck fan company in Wausau, Wisconsin, were repurposed for one of his notable sound sculptures.
"They were a sponsor of a concert that we gave up there a number of years ago and they donated all this material to me so that I could create a temporary installation in the new art center that was opening adjacent to the theater," he said.
Below Bashaw’s massive upstairs studio, other tenants stay busy crafting some more practical, everyday pieces. That includes Jim Brenneman, founder of White Birch Carpentry.
“In a nutshell, White Birch Carpentry is a full-service custom woodworking shop. We do everything from furniture-building to high-end finish carpentry," he said.
White Birch Carpentry has had a workshop in the building since the start of 2025, after Brenneman outgrew his at-home operation.
He said he discovered his current space at the Davis-Linden building through a friend, but he has always had a close tie to the building.
"My grandfather owned Dayton Elevator... a long, long time ago. His office used to be Lily's Bistro in the Oregon District and his warehouse was just down the street here on Davis," he said. "He used to service the cargo elevator in this building so when I was a child, I can remember running around in this building, coming over here a few times with him."
Brenneman's company has worked on many notable, local projects including Grist Provisions’ current West 5th Street location as well as its upcoming second storefront in the Oregon District. He also built black walnut bourbon tables at the Far Hills Arrow Wine location.
According to Brenneman, collaboration is a big part of the C2 Initiative and if he needs something for a project, he doesn't have to look too far.
“There's a couple metal workers that are in the shop, and I sometimes look at doing metal bases for tables and things like that," he said.
When he needs a precise metal cutting tool known as a computer numerical control machine, or CNC, he said he can find help from others in the building.
Rounding the corners of the worn steel and brick halls inside the building, visitors are met with endless studio doors.
That includes two studios occupied by married couple Caryl and Scott Segalewitz, who have had workshops within the historic building for close to a decade.
Caryl Segalewitz said they chose the building because they wanted a space where they could be more creative with their work.
"Whenever I come in and there's somebody else in my space, I love it," she said. "Because we kind of foster each other and really teach each other different techniques and things like that. So it's pretty great.”
Scott Segalewitz specializes in woodworking and he said they even enjoy working together on a number of unique projects since their retirement a few months ago.
"I'll do a wood turn box and she'll put the glass top on it," he said. "Or we'll do chip and dip set. I'll turn a platter, 14- or 16-inch platter, and then she'll a 6-inch glass bowl in it."
C2 Initiative Operations Manager Rebecca Brumfield said the building’s industrial design allows current tenants to bring in and ship out larger products. That includes its massive freight elevator which can hold 5,000 pounds.
“We can move just about anything any tenant wants or needs to move into or out of this building," said Brumfield. "We are in a location where you're only minutes from downtown but you're also quick access to the highway to get to any of the other major cities or whatever you would need.”
Back on the base-level, Shilo and Austin Kirkpatrick have been running their photography business, Arrowood Studio, for almost five years.
Shilo Kirkpatrick said they fell in love with the building's character and what it offered for their business.
"There's always somebody knocking on our door, wanting to check out what we're doing or show us something that they're doing, which is really cool," she said. "It's fun, I wouldn't say that I've felt any sort of competition."
The Kirkpatricks have also collaborated with the on-site typewriter repair and sale shop, TB Writers Plus, utilizing an old typewriter for photoshoots.
"Earlier this summer I found a cool typewriter and was able to connect with TB Typewriters, who are also within the Davis-Linden building, to learn more about the typewriter and how it worked," she said. "So it's a cool thing to have so many resources within the building."
Shilo Kirkpatrick said the couple recently expanded their own photoshoot studio space.
"Not only do we use this space creatively ourselves to photograph clients, but we build rooms and design sets that we also rent out hourly for other photographers in the community," she said.
TB Writers Plus has also expanded over time across the upper level of the building to accommodate its growing collection.
"That's one of the differences with this facility versus having a space somewhere else in a storefront or something like that," said C2 publicist Gery Deer. "Because you don't just have your storefront area or your work area you also have some storage and they can expand the space depending on what they have available they can expand your space as needed.”
The building's owners, Rebecca Brumfield and her husband Trevor Brumfield, have been working to connect with members of the typewriter community for a documentary project.
Deer said the documentary's concept was based on a three-part newspaper series he wrote in October 2024 titled, “Just My Type.”
"Each of the three articles covered a different aspect of the typewriter community," he wrote in a statement. "From the young owners of a fledgling typewriter shop, to those who did the work there – technicians, cleaners, etc. – and rounding it off with a piece about the people who depend on the shop as a resource for their typewriter interests."
Brumfield said they have also started manufacturing legacy parts for typewriters with a new 3D resin printer, which allows them to connect with creatives and shops beyond the Dayton community.
“We've been having to get lucky and find old vendors who still had stuff or have to steal parts off of other machines and condemn them," she said.
Marrying together the old and the new is what the C2 Initiative is all about. Deer said whether it’s preserving and refurbishing historic typewriters or weathered 100-year-old floors, the Davis-Linden Building is working to be a collaborative hub of the future while abiding by the historic commerce of its past.
“That machine is gonna be here in 80 years. This building, the way Matt's doing it, is gonna be here in another 80 years," he said. "Otherwise, it would have been just another one of these old factory buildings sitting empty, waiting for somebody to come and do something with it while it was falling down around them.”
More information about the Davis-Linden building and tenant spaces can be found at davislindenbuilding.com.
