of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio
of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio August 2005below.
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Waverly's Stiffler Building, doomed by community leaders |
After Pike county almost entirely abandoned the downtown and moved into a characterless strip mall - and the the town saw the grand, reusable, comparable-sized Waverly High School be destroyed just around the corner - Waverly will now see a large gap knocked into its downtown streetscape with the destruction of the Stiffler Building this weekend.
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The main entrance now introduces you to a self-fulfilling prophecy: After the useful, sound building was condemned, it has been neglected and abused so that it is condemnable. Compare this with the Gazette photo of a several weeks ago. (Note the ghost of the twin stairway heading up to the right.) |
Though some think adding more parking will help, they are automotively myopic. The downtown has been depopulated. It needs more businesses and more activity, not more parking and gaps and violence done to its heritage - which will instead reduce the potential for more businesses and more activity. This is like tearing down part of your house and enlarging the garage because you want a larger family. Hopefully Waverly will learn from this mistake before more of the downtown is lost. (In addition, the actual footprint of the bulding may not even yield many parking spaces!)
While I was in Wavery covering the city council for the radio May 17th, I looked into the Shiffler Building, and met with the son-in-law of the contractor, Greg Kempton of Roberts Trucking and Excavating. Both are unhappy with destroying the building but are salvaging, and allowing to be salvaged, as much as possible.
Greg Kempton (work ph. 941-2994) wants to salvage the twin ornamental pediments of the cornice (below), possibly giving one to the Waverly Historical Society, but he needs a lift to help with that. I have already approached a fellow preservationist about his lift, but if you know of any other workers who could help, that would be great.
The double 'pediments' atop the Stiffler Building |
When it occurs - after some delay - demolition will begin on a Saturday about 11 and is expected to end Sunday, because the street must be open until the bank across the street closes Saturday midday, and reopened for business Monday.
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"Abandonment." View through stencilling for county offices of the bank building across the street. |
"For Rent" Sign Hoax new 6/10/05The June 10th Chillicothe Gazette has an article on a sign from heaven - impying that the building is being saved...in contrast to the plans from hell that have the building condemned.
Someone jokingly put an "apartments for rent or lease" notice on the Stiffler Building.
The second-to-the-last paragraph of the article is very telling about the knee-jerk thoughtlessness of this urge for demolition. "Ultimately, the end-use of the building space has yet to be decided. It may become parking, or the county may sell the property by advertising for bids."
How much money is being spent to destroy a usable building that contributes to the character (and could recontribute to the viality) of the downtown - and how little thought has been spent on why this irreversable act of destruction is being pursued?!
new 8/11/05After two delays, the doomed building met its fate Saturday August 6th. I could not be there for a post-mortem or salvage, but as I rode by the next day en route to the SCOPS meeting near Ironton, I glanced down Main Street and saw the missing tooth and its attending hydraulic excavator.
