COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Since Preservation Ohio released its list just weeks ago of the most endangered historic sites in the state, one of the two on the list from Columbus has been razed.

Preservation Ohio is a 42-year-old organization that, since 1993, has released a yearly list of “Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites.” Executive Director Thomas Palmer said the list has helped keep historic Ohio locations standing over the years.

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“I can give you tangible examples,” Palmer said. “One of those examples would be right there in Columbus, now known as the Athenaeum, formerly the Masonic Temple on Fourth Street, just a block or two from the Statehouse.”

Palmer said the Athenaeum exists today in large part because of Preservation Ohio. Now, the former Masonic Temple is set to become a music venue after its acquisition by TempleLive.

Here is more about the two Columbus-area sites for 2024.

Farm Crest Bakeries building

Situated on East Livingston Avenue, the Farm Crest Bakeries Building was once a major employer, Palmer said in an interview before its recent demolition.

“That is a site which was obviously a center for employment in the community,” Palmer said.

Cosmetic problems put the building at risk, despite Preservation Ohio’s website saying those weren’t significant — paint in need of removal, and boarded windows and doors in need of repairs. Palmer argued the building should be preserved as it was somewhat rare.

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“The highest and best reason for preservation is, in part, because of the nature of the construction of the building,” Palmer said. “It’s a mid-century building in a form of architecture called Streamline Moderne that simply doesn’t exist in great quantities anywhere in Columbus and Franklin County.”

A photo of the building from the Franklin County Auditor’s Office shows how the building looked in recent years, before its demolition.

The land was bought in 2017 for $250,000 before recently selling this month for $2 million. An affordable housing developer, Woda Cooper Companies, has proposed a 118-unit apartment building for the site.

171-191 S. High St.

A cluster of vacant buildings Downtown is also considered endangered. The storefronts have been modified many times, so it’s unknown if any original details remain. But Palmer said they were the original home of the Columbus department store Lazarus.

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“That’s a unique site, not necessarily because of the buildings themselves, but what happened in those buildings,” Palmer said. “That is the site for the original location of the Lazarus store, which I think dates back to 1851.”

Lazarus stayed in its original home until 1909, when it was moved to the bigger store that it became known for. Palmer said the buildings were later the site of the first Downtown Kroger.

The buildings and a neighboring structure have been owned by Harsax Management Company in Garfield Heights since early 2023. Plans for a 15-story mixed-use building were presented to the Downtown Commission that July. A representative from Harsax was not immediately available for comment.

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The proposal called for three of the existing buildings on the site to be demolished, but for the Ohio National Bank building at 167 N. High St. to remain. Palmer said formal approval of demolition of the structures has not been granted yet. He is holding out hope those plans would be avoided.

“Nothing is written in stone until it’s done,” Palmer said.

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