FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2007
DAYTON--Building 26, a former NCR building used for a top secret codebreaking project credited with shortening World War II, is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, according to a study by Preservation Dayton Inc. [Read the study itself] The study disputes an earlier report paid for by the building’s owner, the University of Dayton, which seeks to demolish the building for undetermined retail and commercial development.
According to Preservation Dayton, the UD study misinterpreted key historical details related to Building 26 and overlooked relevant architectural elements still present and visible that tell the story of the work performed in the building.”
The new study found that the key elements of design of Building 26 that contributed to the historic significance of the building are largely intact, including hallways, doorways, rooms, and the offices of lead engineers Joseph Desch and Robert Mumma. The study also found that most of the building's significant architectural features still exist underneath modern additions.
The 33-page report for Preservation Dayton was conducted by two of the state's leading authorities on historic preservation as well as an acknowledged expert on the history of Building 26. The document was submitted to the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for evaluating the historical significance of Building 26. The office is reviewing the historic status of Building 26 at the request of Representative Mike Turner, recent recipient of the History Channel's 2007 Save Our History Distinguished Leadership Award for his work in forming the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus.
The three authors of the report are Mary Ann Olding, a Cincinnati-based consultant on historic preservation and a governor-appointed member of the Ohio Historic Sites Preservation Advisory Board; Jeff Wray of Jeff Wray Architects, an award-winning Dayton firm that specializes in historic building renovation and adaptive reuse of structures, and Debbie Desch Anderson, the associate producer of the film documentary Dayton Codebreakers and daughter of Joseph Desch, the chief engineer for the codebreaking project inside Building 26.
The consulting firm for the university, ASC Group, Inc. of Columbus, concluded in a 41-page report completed in January that Building 26 met only one of seven register criteria for "integrity" and was therefore not eligible for register listing.
But by emphasizing the loss of architectural details rather than the building's existing structural elements, the ASC study fails to correctly determine the aspects of integrity which are the most important to telling the story of Building 26.
According to the National Park Service directives for listing on the National Register, evaluation of a building's historic integrity must always be grounded in an understanding of a property's physical features and how they related to its significance.
Based on the historic mission inside Building 26, the study for PDI found that the building clearly meets five of the criteria for integrity, thus establishing the building's eligibility for listing on the National Register.
In addition, the PDI study notes that most of the building's significant architectural features still exist, although they are covered by modern additions. If those additions were removed, the building would meet all seven of the register's criteria.
Listing on the National Register provides the University of Dayton with an opportunity to pursue historic tax credits that could be used to offset the cost of renovating the building. UD officials announced in March that they intend to demolish the structure as part of a 49-acre redevelopment plan for an expanded campus.
- Major findings of the PDI study include:
- The key elements of design of Building 26 that contributed to the historic significance of the building are largely intact, including the wide hallways, high ceilings, steel-reinforced floors and expanded power generator needed to build and accommodate the mammoth, 5,000-pound codebreaking machines developed there.
- The first floor of the original building remains largely intact, with the original design clearly visible. Significant rooms left with their original walls include the offices of lead engineers Joseph Desch and Robert Mumma; the room where the Bombes were crated, and the central core of rooms that housed the WAVES steno pool, communications center of teletypes and the secure lines to Washington, D.C.
- Also easily visible is the central hallway which connected Desch's office and Mumma's office. These design elements are important to show how each room could be isolated, thus keeping workers in the building from finding out what was going on in rooms other than where they worked.
- Still present as a part of the building's design is the front entry where Bombes were secretly whisked out of the building in the cover of night, the wartime entrance where workers came and left, and the rear stairways to the supply shed.
- Elements of the of the basement machine shop, such as wiring, still remain. Also in the basement is the entrance to the original tunnel. It was guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week by an armed Marine. The tunnel system was the circulatory system for the entire factory -- bringing utilities, messengers, and visitors from building to building.
- Also visible is the roof access through a hatch behind a locked door on the second floor. This was the only way for the Marine Guards to get on the roof. Witnesses (including Joseph Desch himself) described the Marine snipers who were stationed on the roof with loaded rifles while machines were loaded onto trucks or the railroad cars.
- Throughout the building, even where walls were removed, the supporting columns remain, clearly defining rooms and corridors.
For more information, contact Dave Bohardt, President, Preservation Dayton at (937) 277-8149. To view and download a copy of the report go to www.Daytoncodebreakers.org.