2nd street market - Reminiscint of a time gone by

2nd Street Market
600 E 2nd Street
Dayton, Ohio 45402
(937) 228-2088

I think that a lot of people forget how things used to be. I am now 27 years old and I clearly have no memories of how our downtown looked in its busiest years, but I might have found a little taste of something similar.

It was early January when I remembered the 2nd street market. My Dad and I kept calling it the "Webster Street Market" or the "Finley Market". Why did we have those names in our memories? Not sure. It made the search for the building all the more amusing as it took about twice as long as it should have to find it.

But for some reason, I remembered the place. After some errand running, my Dad and I decided to stop by and see how the market was doing. It was bitter cold outside and the long, narrow corridor of shops was without a doubt one of the busiest places in Downtown Dayton that day. As we perused the various shops we were looking for only a few things: A cup of coffee; and some lunch.

We found a sandwich shop, the name of which I cannot remember, and we sat and listened to a guitarist, whose name probably left me faster than I forgot the sandwich shop's. But we sat and talked. I saw some old friends from high school. We just had a pleasant time in general.

It reminded me of what a downtown should be like. A bustling market. People milling about. Vendors selling their wares. Capitalism. Quite literally the free market. I am sure that I will find myself going back there when it gets warmer as my first visit was enjoyable. Now if only I could remember that sandwich shop...