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8. Mt. Vernon Ave. Commercial Building (1900)

Most Endangered Buildings

8. Mt. Vernon Ave. Comm. Building (1900)
1533-1537 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Cols. Ohio

Owner: Blueprint Community Development LLC
Anchoring the intersection of Taylor and Mt. Vernon avenues, the handsome building on the southwest corner has served the neighborhood well over the years. Dating back to 1900, this building served originally as a boarding house for women, then as offices for Accurate Measure Oil Co. in the Roaring 20s, then as a barbershop and drug store, a laundromat from 1962-1981, was home to Lucy’s Restaurant in the 70s, and most recently as the art gallery of OSU Art Professor Pheoris West.

While this building has seen better days, its potential is alluring and self-evident. The building resembles a mixture of architectural styles, starting with a rusticated Romanesque archway over the Mt. Vernon Avenue-facing entrance. The rest of the building is consistent with the Georgian style of architecture, with arched dentils around upper windows, beneath a prominent parapet adorned with an ornate cornice. The storefronts on the street level, indicative of their colorful history, have been modified over the years. The building changed ownership in August 2016.