The oldest standing fire station in Cincinnati has been demolished.
After the facade of a yellow brick building collapsed onto Riverside Drive May 18, Cincinnati building inspectors determined it was time for an emergency demolition, said city spokesperson Ben Breuninger.
No one was injured in the collapse, according to the Cincinnati Fire Department. The building was vacant at the time of the collapse, Breuninger said.
By May 19, a crew with O’Rourke Wrecking Co. had reduced the three-story building to an almost 20-foot-tall hill of brick, wood, glass and the furniture that once filled the multifamily-unit building.
O’Rourke CEO Michele O’Rourke said all debris will be removed by the end of the week.
The demolition cost about $117,000, according to Breuninger. Addressing the asbestos on the lot cost $20,000. The city is paying for these services initially but will bill the property owner.
Police closed Riverside Drive between Bains Street and Collins Avenue for the day May 18. That portion of the road has since reopened.
Oldest fire station in Cincinnati
Ann Senefeld is the founder and sole historian at architecture blog Digging Cincinnati History. She dug up the history of the building and reported it to the blog’s Facebook page in 2022.
Constructed in 1859, the building originally housed fire engines on the first floor with a police station on the second floor, according to Senefeld. The third floor was a meeting space for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization founded in England in the 1600s.
The building at 2100 Riverside Drive served as Engine Company No. 11 until a new building was constructed at 2125 Riverside Drive around 1909. The Odd Fellows owned the property from 1911 to 1937.
Kroger Grocery and Baking Co. operated a store out of the first floor for five years in the 1920s.
Who owns the property?
Elizabeth Squeri-Kroth is the owner of 2100 Riverside Drive, according to the Hamilton County Auditor’s office. The property was transferred to Squeri-Kroth in 2011.
Squeri-Kroth is also listed as the owner of other properties on Riverside Drive: 2074, 2076, 2102, and 2104. Squeri-Kroth and her husband David Kroth are listed as the owners of 2106, and 2110 Riverside Drive.
Kroth said his two daughters were living in 2100 Riverside Drive until one moved out in 2024, and the other moved out in 2025. It was not leased again, Kroth said.
Owners of collapsed property were cited in 2018
Prior to the collapse, the city issued four civil citations over the last eight years to the building owners for failure to bring the structure into compliance with the state building code, Breuninger said.
The three other civil citations required the owner to comply with the 2018 civil citation, Breuninger said.
A civil citation from 2018 requested the building owner make several repairs including weather-proofing, replacing loose gutters and downspouts, and painting over surfaces that may include lead.
Owners say hillside erosion may have contributed to collapse
Kroth points to the hill behind the building sliding and pushing it as part of the reason for the collapse. Kroth got estimates for repairs needed for the building and said it was in the $500,000 range.
“Come on,” he said. “That’s a lot of money to fix a 160-year-old building.”
He said the family’s plan is to sell all six properties they own on Riverside Drive as soon as possible.
Hillside Trust director says Columbia Parkway construction sparked erosion
For decades, the homeowners on Riverside Drive have had to deal with the erosion of the hillside beneath an elevated portion of Columbia Parkway, which is just north of the road.
The construction of Columbia Parkway was what started the erosion of the hill, according to Eric Russo. He’s the executive director of the Hillside Trust, a nonprofit that started 50 years ago with a mission to advocate for the thoughtful use and preservation of area hillsides.
Columbia Parkway was plagued by poor engineering practices from the time it was built almost a century ago, Russo said. The river bend cuts into the land in the historic East End neighborhood, contributing to the issue.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Collapsed building was oldest fire station in Cincinnati per historian
Reporting by Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
