8 most endangered historical properties in the Dayton region

Here is an alphabetical list of several at-risk historical properties in the Dayton area, according to Preservation Dayton.

Barnes school building

The Barnes building was built in 1929. It was once a high school and then a junior high before the district consolidated in the 1980s. For decades, it housed Kettering schools’ central office.

Demolition of the 94-year-old D.L. Barnes building is planned by Kettering City Schools this year as part of up to $5 million in capital improvement projects.

Tearing down the building at 3750 Far Hills Ave. would make room for green space, according to the school district.

District officials said fully renovating the Barnes building would cost close to $17 million.

Dayton Daily News Building

This 1908 downtown Dayton building was the flagship of James M. Cox, an Ohio governor and presidential candidate. The Cox newspaper empire began with the Dayton Daily News.

Architect Albert Pretzinger modeled the building on the Knickerbocker Trust building in New York City, with massive Corinthian columns and elaborate portico.

In 2007 the newspaper relocated to 1611 S. Main St. At the time Dayton Daily News owner Cox Enterprises contributed $1 million for environmental remediation and demolition of the former downtown newspaper building.

The new owner’s plans to convert the site into a student housing project were dropped in 2016. The building now belongs to demolition contractor Steve R. Rauch Inc.

Michael Neil House

Built around 1900 for Michael Neil, who platted the Wolf Creek Area, the house was sold shortly after it was built to Charles M. Seybold, president of the Seybold Machine Co.

Located in the Grafton Hill Historic District, this brick Queen Anne style building and property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Leopold Rauh House

This Jacobean Tudor home in the Dayton View Historic District was built in 1910 for Leopold Rauh.

Rauh was the president of the Egry Register Co. and instrumental in establishing Dayton’s commission-manager form of government.

Designed by Dayton architect Albert Pretzinger, the home has 24 rooms and 8½ baths. During the housing shortage of World War II, the third-floor ballroom was converted to six bedrooms and occupied.

John R. Reynolds Mansion

John R. Reynolds built the home in 1873 at the eastern end of the city limits on a rural hilltop with sweeping vistas of the city of Dayton.

The Montgomery County Historical Society described the 12,000-square-foot mansion as “an exemplary Midwest statement of Second Empire Architecture.”

Sears and Roebuck

Sears and its Auto Center opened in the Trotwood location in 1966 and was once a main anchor store of the Salem Mall. The mall was demolished in 2006, but Sears remained.

Thomas E. Tucker House

This home was built in 1906 for Thomas E. Tucker, president of the Gem City Boiler Co.

Located in the Dayton View Historic District, it features Italian Renaissance style, apparent in the arched windows, pedimented dormer windows and the low-pitched hip roof.

However, the veranda, which conceals much of the facade, is built in the Classical Revival style with a dentil entablature and balustrade supported by fluted Doric columns.

Van Deman Apartments

This three-story, Jacobethan influenced brick apartment building in the Dayton View Historic District was built in 1908 for John N. Van Deman, a Dayton lawyer.

When built, the building contained five very large apartments, four of which had servants’ rooms and large front porches. The interior is finished in mahogany and oak.