Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park - Dayton's National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Central High School Senior Class photo with Dunbar at far left, back row; and Orville in middle back row.

Wright State University Special Collections and Archives

Central High School Senior Class of 1890. Dunbar is standing in back row on the left; Orville is standing in the middle of the back row.

What are the connections between the Wrights and Paul Laurence Dunbar?

Dunbar and Orville Wright were members of the class of 1890 of Dayton’s Central High School. Dunbar graduated with the class, while Orville did not. The Wrights also published The Dayton Tattler, Dunbar’s short-lived newspaper for African-American residents of west Dayton, in December 1890.

The Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center with Wright Cycle Company building.

National Park Service

The Hoover Block and the Wright Cycle Company building.

Are the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center and The Wright Cycle Company building reproductions or restorations?

Two buildings were merged into one to create the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center. The Hoover Block on the corner of Williams and Third was restored and was the location of the Wrights’ printing shop from 1890-1895. However, the adjacent Setzer building collapsed in 1997. Its façade is original but the interior is new construction. The Wright Cycle Company building, a National Historic Landmark, is restored to an approximation of its exterior condition in 1896.