We tear down historical buildings to build modern buildings. Then we tear down modern buildings to erect reproductions of the original historical buildings.

Does this strike you as counterproductive? It does to the people at Preservation Ohio. On their website you can view the buildings that have been placed on their most recent iteration of the Ohio's Most Endangered Historic Sites list. The organization has been compiling this list since 1992.

One of the most interesting sites on the list is the Arcade Building in Dayton, built in 1902 by the Barney & Smith Car Company. It is comprised of five buildings capped with a glass-topped rotunda. The buildings are not uniform; one resembles a Dutch guild hall. Others feature an Italian renaissance revival style.

I was fascinated by the Arcade in Cleveland, although I haven't been there since it was incorporated into a Hyatt hotel. A similar development in Indianapolis is a very popular shopping destination. I hope this arcade can be treated as kindly.

If I were flush with funds, I'd love to help refurbish the Crites Octagon House in Circleville. When Walmart bought the property in 2002 with plans to knock the house down, a group of citizens banded together to purchase and move it. How could such a treasure be left unrestored?

Preservation Ohio is a private not-for-profit organization formed in 1982 to preserve Ohio's historical buildings and sites.