{"id":991,"date":"2015-04-11T23:00:34","date_gmt":"2015-04-11T23:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/?p=991"},"modified":"2015-05-25T14:24:11","modified_gmt":"2015-05-25T14:24:11","slug":"friends-get-an-inside-glimpse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/friends-get-an-inside-glimpse","title":{"rendered":"Friends Get An Inside Glimpse"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Tour of the Flatiron Building<\/h2>\n
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Anyone\u00a0who has wandered\u00a0down the streets of our once bustling city can\u2019t help but notice Wheeling\u00a0is a city full of architectural treasures. We walk by the exteriors, admiring the beautiful brickwork, the\u00a0intricate\u00a0terra cotta ornamentation, the elaborate wooden carvings, the gorgeous old windows, historic wavy glass still intact, creating ripples in time. We peer into often empty buildings, longing to know why such a\u00a0majestic building is now vacant, what its history was, what tales its ghosts would tell, what hidden architectural gems lie inside.<\/p>\n

\"Friends<\/a>
In\u00a0the\u00a0lobby, a crowd of eager tour goers gathers to listen to Friends of Wheeling President, Jeanne Finstein, give a brief history of the Flatiron Building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Wednesday, April 1st, an eager crowd was given the chance to get this inside glimpse of one of Wheeling\u2019s most distinctive buildings. Thanks to gracious hosts and current building owners, Kevin and Patricia Duffin, the Friends of Wheeling led an enthusiastic group through the Flatiron Building (1507 Main Street). Friends of Wheeling President,\u00a0Jeanne Finstein,\u00a0prepared a\u00a0brief history of the building, which she shared with the crowd before the tour commenced. For those of you who were unable to attend, we present to you Ms. Finstein\u2019s Flatiron building history, followed by a gallery of photos from the fascinating tour.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

A Flatiron History<\/h2>\n

-Prepared by\u00a0Jeanne Finstein<\/em><\/p>\n

The earliest property transaction found for this address occurred in January 1, 1874 when Benjamin F. Caldwell purchased it from the B&O Railroad for $6000 (the equivalent of over $120,000 today). The description states that it was \u201ca triangular piece of ground bounded towards the south by South Street, towards the east by Main Street, and towards the north by the southern side of the south wall of a brick warehouse fronting on Main Street and now owned by A. Allen Howell.\u201d There is no mention in the description of a structure on the property.<\/p>\n

\"B.<\/a>
B. F. Caldwell advertisement from the 1877 Callin\u2019s Wheeling City Directory. Image courtesy the Ohio County Public Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Caldwell (1828-1910) was born in 1828 and worked first as a cabin boy, at age 12, on the river steamer Arcade. Four years later, at age 16, he began an apprenticeship with G. W. Johnson, learning the copper, tin, and sheet iron business. After 5 years of apprenticeship and another four years as a journeyman, he partnered with W & J Stewart in what became known as Bell\u2019s Foundry. City Directories list his own business, B.F. Caldwell, at 1507 Main Street as early as 1875-76 and as late as 1888, when he was in partnership with William F. Peterson. An ad in the 1877 City Directory shows that he was \u201cmanufacturer of and dealer in cooking and heating stoves and house furnishing goods.\u201d He also advertised \u201cmarbleized, iron, and slate mantels, and various kinds of roofing, hearths, and related materials.\u201d Caldwell also served as Mayor of Wheeling from 1893 to 1897.<\/p>\n

\"National<\/a>
National Tube Co., Riverside Iron Works. Postcard from the collections of the Ohio County Public Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next owner of the property was Riverside Iron, the company that built the building that stands there today. The October 4, 1895 Wheeling Intelligencer<\/em> reported, \u201cVery rapid progress is being made on the foundation for the new Riverside Iron Works office and ware rooms on Main and South Streets.\u201d An article in the January 8, 1896 paper mentions the building as \u201cin progress of erection.\u201d On April 11, 1896 the paper reported, \u201cThe Riverside Iron Works\u2019 new office building, at the corner of Main and South streets, will be completed and occupied probably the 1st of June.\u201d No further mention of building completion was found, so presumably the company offices were occupied in mid 1896.<\/p>\n

The 1896 City Directory shows Riverside Iron Works at this street address, and the 1902 Sanborn map shows the footprint of the current building. The National Tube Company acquired the property in late 1899 from Riverside Iron Works, when National Tube bought out all of the Riverside works for a total sale price of $6 million (the equivalent of over $165 million today). No sale price for the building itself was indicated. Riverside, and then its successor National Tube, manufactured steel pipe, steel blooms and billets, steel rails, etc. The company had a mill at the east end of 25th Street and a plant and blast furnaces in Benwood. Key officers of the company at the time of the consolidation were President J.N. Vance, General Manager Frank J. Hearne, and Secretary John D. Culbertson. An estimated 2000 men worked for the company then.<\/p>\n

\"Flatiron<\/a>
Flatiron Building in the 1913 Flood. Photo by C.C. Klein. From the collections of the Ohio County Public Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1907 the property at 1507 Main was sold to the Wheeling Steel and Iron Company for $87,000 (the equivalent of over $2 million today). Subsequent City Directories indicate that it served as the office of Wheeling Steel and Iron Company until at least 1920.<\/p>\n

The 1923-24 Directory lists the Wheeling Steel Corporation general engineering office at this address. The following tenants were listed in City Directories in the next few years:<\/p>\n

* 1930<\/strong> \u2013 Consolidated Expanded Metal Company
\n* 1934 and 1936<\/strong> \u2013 American Legion Wheeling, Post 1
\n *1938 and 1940<\/strong> \u2013 U.S. Naval Communications Reserve, and the Oglebay Institute Downtown Center (in 1940)
\n* 1941-42, 1944, and 1946<\/strong> \u2013 The Steelmakers Musical Studio
\n* 1948<\/strong> \u2013 Girl Scouts of America<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Many owners have exchanged hands and many more moons have risen over the Flatiron Building since its inception in 1896.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The building then apparently stood vacant until the mid 1950s, when it served as City Hall while the current City County Building was being built. During the years 1956-1959, City Directories indicate that police headquarters were located on the first floor; the city auditor and treasurer were on the mezzanine; the water department and city manager were on the 2nd floor; the city clerk and other city offices were on the 3rd floor; and the county health department was on the 4th floor. No mention was made of the 5th floor. (Could it be that the current first and second floors were a single floor at that time, with just a portion of the current second floor being the \u201cmezzanine?\u201d)<\/p>\n

The building then apparently stood vacant until after it was purchased in 1964 by Grace and Nick Karnell. Various uses over the next two decades included Karnell Real Estate and Karnell Furniture, Ohio Valley Shopping News, the Stark Artificial Limb Company, the State Vocational Rehabilitation District Office, Florence Crittenton Outreach, Interim Health Care, Dr. Mohamed Badr, and rental apartments.<\/p>\n

Wheeling author George Fetherling recalls living in one of the apartments in 1966, when he was a cub reporter for the Wheeling Intelligencer. He includes a brief description in his book Travels by Night<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen one of the reporters at the Intell<\/em> left town, I was able to assume her spot in a communal apartment in the old flat-iron building at Main and South Streets, between the newsroom and the cavernous railway freight sheds by the river. Five of us lived there for what one or two persons might have expected to pay for other accommodations of equivalent squalor. A determining factor in the price was the way that one could reach the place only by passing through the premises of the business that occupied the ground floor. The establishment was called the Stark Artificial Limb Company. We had latchkeys and at night would grope our way across the showroom in the dark, bumping into wooden legs and other prostheses.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In recent years, the building fell into disrepair. Deeds indicate that Olive Lee Cox purchased it in 2003 from the Karnell family for $124,000. Quan Lu was the next owner, purchasing the property in 2006 for $100,000. The building was then purchased in 2008 by\u00a0MZQ LLC, also for $100,000.\u00a0Last year, in September of 2014, ownership was once again transferred.\u00a0The new owner, Kevin Duffin, purchased\u00a0the building for a sum of\u00a0$105,000.<\/p>\n

Despite the debris and decrepit conditions, the former beauty is apparent, and the building appears to be watertight and structurally sound.<\/p>\n

[Sources:\u00a0Ohio County deed records;\u00a0Wheeling City Directories, numerous years;\u00a0Wheeling Intelligencer, numerous dates in 1899 and 1900;\u00a0Sanborn Insurance Maps (1884, 1890, 1902, and 1921-22);\u00a0Newton, J.H. History of the Panhandle, West Virginia, 1879, page 270;\u00a0Death record of Benjamin F. Caldwell;\u00a0Fetherling, George (Douglas). Travels by Night, 1994, page 88]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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A Gallery Glimpse Inside the Flatiron Building of Wheeling<\/h3>\n

(Photographs by Erin Rothenbuehler and Se\u00e1n Duffy)<\/em><\/p>\n