DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The city of Dayton plans to demolish the 129-year-old historic building that once was the site of the Wright brothers’ first bike shop because the building has deteriorated to a point where it can no longer be maintained and redeveloped.
The shop was first built in 1892 to serve as the Wright brothers’ first bike shop. Soon thereafter, Gem City Ice Cream Co. bought the property and housed it until 1975 until was sold to another company, the Dayton Daily News reported.
Years after a wide array of owners, the city attempted to sell the rundown property to developers but it failed inspection tests. The building was deemed structurally damaged and in danger of collapse.
City officials also attempted to receive approval to bulldoze the property but did not move forward after hearing community concerns, Daytons Landmark Commission staff report said.
But multiple inspections in 2019 concluded the building can’t be saved. City staff and nuisance abatement specialists said the building needs to be removed, the report said.
This isn’t the first Wright brothers’ bike shops torn down in Ohio. Their second and third bike shops were torn down, but the fourth is a national historic site in the Wright Dunbar District, the newspaper said.