Ohio Depot Regains Old Look

When Ohio businessman Martin Schickel heard that the Loveland, Ohio, train station his father once owned was for sale, he bought the 1907 structure. This month, six years after purchasing the station, Schickel completed work on a new steel roof that resembles the original terra cotta one.

"The building means a lot to me and my family. It's kind of an icon for the community," Schickel says. "My dad instilled in me the desire to use old buildings for current uses but retain their beauty. … I wanted to continue to upgrade the appearance of the property and push it toward its original glory."

Schickel's father, William, restored—and saved—the abandoned Loveland Station in the 1960s as a coffee shop and community arts center. Today the former depot houses a runner's supply store, which remained open during the two-week project.

"Everybody that I've spoken with really likes [the roof]," says Bob Roncker, owner of Roncker's Running Spot, which began leasing the Loveland Station two years ago. "In that particular [building], the ambiance is just really nice."

Installing a steel roof on a historic building with dormers was challenging, says contractor Tom Bolt of Consumer Solutions. "You have to come up with creative ways to put it on a building that's over 100 years old," Bolt says. "It turned out beautifully and looks much like the original did. The key factor is good craftsmanship—and a lot of patience."

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Comments

Submitted by consumer solutions at: November 15, 2010
Anyone interested on the roof style, dimensional roof styles or any other home improvement project contact us through our web site, www.cshomeimprovement.com We are the company that installed this new roof!

Submitted by Gayla at: October 26, 2010
I love the style of the roof, it gives it alot of class.All railroad buildings should be preserved for their history and their style.

Submitted by larki at: October 26, 2010
the roof looks great in the small photo the Truro Historical Society [cape cod] houses their historic map collection in a town leased and town renovated 1912 building which once had a terra cotta roof ... who was the fabricator of the steel roof ... and what was the price tag

Submitted by J.C, at: October 26, 2010
Great job on the station. I think this was the station for the Pennsylvania RR (originally the Little Miami Railroad) the "Cincinnati Limited" used this route to New York. There was also a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad station in Loveland -- does it still exist??

Submitted by Higher Speed Rail Now at: October 20, 2010
What railroad is this from? Many places with renewed train service wish they had their depots! Or had to put them back up like Wells,Maine and Portland, Maine.

Submitted by Anonymous at: October 20, 2010
nice job Martin! Richard @ Architectural Art Glass Studio

 

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