From the Mansfiled, OH News Journal:

CRESTLINE — Crestline was built by the railroads, and for more than 100 years, the railroads were the major source of the city’s economy.

Today, one of the icons of that city’s heritage begins to come down.

The Crestline Roundhouse, which was the landmark of the old Pennsylvania Railroad, will be taken down over the next six weeks.

The property’s owner, Denver Roof of Mansfield, said that while he doesn’t want to see the building destroyed, he has no choice anymore.

“It’s gotten so bad,” Roof said. “We had a kid get hurt out there about a month ago, and it cost me a lot of money.

“None of us want to tear it down. I certainly don’t. I’d love to see it restored.”

Roof, who said that he has “four or five options” with what to do with the property once the demolition and cleanup is completed, said he wanted to sell the property to the Crestline Roundhouse Preservation Society, but added that nothing has been done for many years.

“I imagine I’ll sell it to somebody,” Roof said. “But right now I just don’t know.
“I know that there is that society out there that wants to buy it, but nothing has been done about that.”

Roof said he doesn’t know how much the demolition will cost.

William J. Ayers, in a piece on the Crestline Roundhouse Preservation Society Web site, said the roundhouse was built about 1918, despite the fact that the PRR had a facility there decades before the current building was built.

The original facility was so large it contained car shops, a tin shop and a machine and blacksmith shop. More importantly, shops and businesses sprung up all around the facility, helping to drive Crestline’s economy.

For many Crestliners, the sight of the roundhouse was as common as growing up. The PRR closed the facility in 1967 when the company merged with the New York Central and the building has sat dormant since.

The purpose of the building was to allow steam engines to change direction. Also, steam engines were repaired there.

The building’s famous 150-foot smokestack, which formed much of the outline of Crestline’s western border for more than 70 years, was torn down over a seven-day period ending on Oct. 12, 1982. Safety reasons were cited then as well.

Crestline safety-service director Gene Toy, also a Crestline native, said the city knew nothing of the demolition because the facility isn’t in the city limits. But he added that some sorrow comes with the news.

“You can look at it with some nostalgia,” Toy said. “But someone will get hurt out there. A lot of Crestline’s heritage will go with it,” he added. “I hate to see it meet that end.”

Toy said that trying to save it now it just too little, too late.

“The time to save it would have been 20 years ago,” he said. “I think we’ll all miss it.”


Another Story:

CRESTLINE -The Crestline Pennsylvania Railroad roundhouse, or what's left of it, is coming down today. It had become a safety hazard as big chunks of its concrete ceiling had been coming down. Efforts to save the ailing structure had failed as the job loomed larger than the group who tried to save it.

During the war years of both big wars the Crestline Pennsylvania service facility had given hope to the families of Crestline who needed the facilities to survive the Great Depression and the wars that threatened our freedom.

Just about everybody in Crestline has a story about the railroad and its famous roundhouse that was one of only eight that were built around the country under the United States Railroad Act in the first years of the 20th Century. Denise, working at Geyer's grocery, today, told about her grandfather retiring there after working throught both wars and the depression. Co-worker JoAnn Dovenbarger had similar stories to tell. Her husband still works for CSX. The people in Crestline didn't know that the demolition was immenent and showed surprise when told of the activity. "I thought they were going to save it," said an older man.

Kevin Kohls visited the roundhouse and found out that the metal was going to The Timken Company, "that something good was coming out of the demolition." He said he looked inside and saw how bad the condition of the building had become. He was told that "kids had been up on the roof, which was in the process of falling in." He was also informed of a group of Satanists, dressed in black, "who wanted to sacrifice a sheep in the building."

Jim Croneis noted the huge wooden framed windows that held over 5,000 panes of glass were built at the Roehr Mills in Bucyrus, forerunner of the O.F. Kime Lumber Co., in Bucyrus, where one of its old buildings, that saw Trolley cars built, was demolished a week ago.


Sad to see it go!

As more then a half circle, could this be one the biggest to demolished in a long time?

Sad to see it go, anything is possible with enough money but its a mercy raze.

Joshua

From http://www.crestlineroundhouse.org/




KL

Just curious, if they had succeeded in purchasing the building, and then found enough money to restore it, what then.......?

MX (obviously not my real name)