of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio
of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio new 2/28/06
The huge fire that wiped out the stockpiles of Goodwill Industries also destroyed a part of Chillicothe's heritage.
The February 14th fire that destroyed Goodwill Industries' warehouse did not touch their main offices and facility on east Main Street, but it wiped out a part of our vanishing railroad history.
The building Goodwill was renting was the Norfolk & Western Railway Freight Depot, built about 1911. I had a hand in convincing the railroad to not demolish it about 12 years ago, and it was instead sold and found other uses. After the fire the building was a gutted shell, lacking floors and roofs. Now it is gone.
The front two-story part housed offices, while the long back part served as a warehouse for frieght being shipped on the N&W. A rear separate wood-frame building, probably older than the freight depot, was not damaged, though it has been demolished too.
new 2/28/06
On March 14th, a brick fell off the Carlisle Building or adjacent Howson Building and damaged a parked car. This renewed concerns about the condition of the Carlisle Building. The adjacent Howson Building was also damaged by the fire and firefighting back in April of 2003.
Along with reading the front page Gazette article about the event, I called the city to find out more details on this issue. After speaking to Kelly Kight of the Building Department, and the Police Department, I think I got the gist of the matter.
The brick appears to have come from the parapet between the Carlisle and Howson Buildings, probably blown off by strong winds that day. I was told there is no police investigation and the building department cannot look into the incident any further; if the owner of the damaged car wants to pursue matters further, they can get a private investigator to look into it.
Mr. Kight said that he could not determine which building it came from, since it appears to have come from the parapet between the two buildings and that a building survey would be needed to detemine who owns the parapet.
The misdemeanor charge the city filed against the owners of the Carlisle Building, KG&R, is set for pretrial April 26th. The charge was failure to comply with several code violations cited in September of last year.
Update 4/26/06 Activity has resumed at the Carlisle - at least in the form of tours of the building. Joe Herlihy has given walk-throughs to realtors, city council members, and me. I'll post a photo essay soon.
Update 4/30/06 The Chillicothe Gazette has a front-page article about the owners of the Carlisle waiting on investors, and the woes of the owner of the adjacent Howson Building.
new 4/26/06
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Security fencing surrounds the doomed house as architectural parts are removed. |
A new local company, Scioto Architectural Salvage, has recovered doors, woodwork, hardware, mirrors, fireplace mantles, stone trim, and carved stone columns from the doomed house. The glass-roofed bay window has already found a new home with a neighbor on 4th street.
new 2/28/06Contractors looked over the outside of the Ross County Courthouse March 14th. Chipped stone, flaking paint, and decaying wood trim are concerns that will be neccessarily addressed with the work to be done.
Update 4/26/06 As reported in a Chillicothe Gazette story April 19th, the contract has been awarded, to the Columbus firm of General Restoration Corporation. A high estimate of $1,100,000 has been made for the cost of the work.
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The courthouse tower - which is wood meant to look like stone - needs repair to its wooden trim and repainting. |
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Contractors and their assistants gather under the portico. |
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Looking at chipped trim on the wings of the courthouse. |
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The finial atop the main gable is about 4 feet tall and made of three large pieces of carved stone. |
