Dayton’s oldest operating school building is now 110 years old. Here are 7 things you should know about it.

Each year students audition to attend Dayton’s public arts magnet school, which is also the oldest operating school in the Dayton Public School system.

Here are 7 things to know about Stivers:

1. School growth. As Dayton's population grew, the city needed more high schools. Stivers was constructed in 1908 to relieve crowded conditions at Steele High School, which was built in 1894.

2. Named for a Civil War veteran. The high school was originally called East High School, according to Dayton Public Schools. When it was completed in 1914, the school became known as Stivers Manual Training High School. It was named after a Civil War veteran, Captain Charles Bryan Stivers, who later became a school principal.

3. Nurturing talent. Stivers nourished budding writing talent as early as the 1920s. Boys and girls could take part in a variety of literary societies at the school. The first literary magazine was called "Stylus."

4. Cartooning great. Milton Caniff, known as the "Rembrandt of the comics," graduated from Stivers in 1925. During his school years, Caniff drew caricatures for the yearbook, according to the Stivers Athletic Hall of Fame. Professionally he was known for the comics Dickie Dare, Terry and the Pirates, and Steve Canyon.

5. From training to arts. The school transitioned into a visual and performing arts magnet school for seventh and eighth grades in 1990. Six years later, the school was renamed Stivers School for the Arts and added grades nine through twelve.

6. Historic rebirth. In 2000, the historic structure was in jeopardy of being demolished. The community was challenged to raise $1 million to help save it. With help from the seedling Foundation the money was raised and combined with a federal grant to restore the building. In 2001, the school was added to the National Historic Register.

7. Developing capability. Each year the school's photography department holds an art auction to raise money. Acclaimed professional photographers from around the world donate their work, and the proceeds are used to equip the program.