A zoning board has approved a request to demolish the Wright Brothers' first bike shop in Dayton, Ohio. City officials want to tear down the 129-year-old historic building because they believe it has deteriorated too much to be preserved.
FILE - In this undated photo, a sign notes the site of the Wright brothers' bike shop outside the former Gem City Ice Cream building in Dayton, Ohio. The Dayton Board of Zoning Appeals has approved the city’s request to demolish a 129-year-old historic building that once was the site of the Wright brothers’ first bike shop. The city wants to tear down the site because the building has deteriorated to a point where it can no longer be maintained and redeveloped.
The city wants to tear down the site because the building has deteriorated to a point where it can no longer be maintained and redeveloped, the Dayton Daily News has reported. Public safety concerns have also been raised by some who fear the building could collapse. 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 it was sold to another company.