Building 26 Today
Building 26, after several major additions in the 1960s, enlarged and covered with a glass and metal exterior. This photo was taken from edge of the Vietnam Veterans Park, next to the Stewart St. Bridge. |
This photo shows the section the original building still visible. By looking carefully the fact that the original center section is free-standing on 3 sides becomes apparent. |
This diagram was used as reference during my tour of Buidling 26 in 2001. The major changes to the building on the first floor are apparent. The second floor was not enlarged, but all interior walls were removed.
UD begins tearing down NCR Building 26
Anthony Gottschlich, Dayton Daily News, January 11, 2008
The University of Dayton on Friday began demolition of Building 26, the site of NCR's top-secret codebreaking operation during World War II.
The city of Dayton issued a demolition permit Friday and workers began dismantling the building at the corner of South Patterson Boulevard and Stewart Street around 3 p.m., UD spokeswoman Teri Rizvi said.
"It will take about a month for the entire building to be down," Rizvi said.
A freezing wind blew as Steve Rauch Co. heavy-equipment operators began demolishing a central office section on the east side of Building 26. There were no onlookers or protesters.
A Dayton Police Department squad car idled in the parking lot near equipment and workers moving around inside a high fence erected around the property.
Rizvi said it would take about six months to clean up the soil and prepare the 11-acre Brownfield site for redevelopment.
Preservation Dayton President David Bohardt immediately decried the demolition, calling it a "needless tragedy."
"The university was either unwilling or unable to understand the importance of this building and the role it played in history," Bohardt said. "It's a great loss for the community. It's a loss the community should have never been asked to accept."
Preservationists have urged UD to save the building and integrate its reuse with the university's plans for the site, where NCR engineer and UD alumnus Joseph Desch worked to develop a Nazi codebreaking machine that's credited with hastening the end of World War II.
UD contended the original Art Deco building's historical luster had been lost over the years to heavy alterations, reducing it to a mere shell of pink metal and glass. It showed as evidence the Ohio Historic Preservation Office's conclusion that the building did not appear to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
UD President Daniel J. Curran said UD is committed to honoring the history there "in a way that will educate and inspire future generations."
Steve R. Rauch Inc. has extracted several architectural remnants from the building and parts of what is believed to be Desch's office, which will be donated to Dayton History for an interactive display at Carillon Park.
Curran said UD would consult with campus and community leaders and entertain proposals from private developers for projects at the site.
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Last updated
03-Aug-2008
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