Wright Cycle Shop

Ohio History

Bicycle Shop

For our next stop in Dayton, we headed just down the street to the Wright Cycle Co. The brothers were fascinated by bicycles and opened their first shop in 1892. They actually operated in five consecutive locations during the ensuing 16 years. The buildings were almost all located on the same street; they must have constantly needed larger quarters for the flourishing business. The shop above, used from 1895-1897, is the only one still standing. The fifth and last building, in fact, was turned into a machine shop to experiment with building airplanes around 1902. 

Bicycle Counter

The front counter in the Wright Cycle Shop was well-stocked with all kinds of bicycle parts. I could just imagine a grease-streaked clerk standing behind the counter as townspeople filtered in and out wheeling those old-fashioned bicycles with the huge front wheels.