The building that was once home to is being demolished by the city after the building neared total collapse.
Since closing in 2024 after more than a century of operations, Fridrich Bicycle at 3800 Lorain Ave. in Ohio City had been decaying. For months, cones blocked a sidewalk to protect pedestrians from a potential collapse of the bowing brick facade, which Ward 7 Councilmember Austin Davis said was "imminent" when the city stepped in Wednesday.
"The city has emergency demolition powers when there is an imminent threat to life or property, and that was the situation we faced this week," Davis said.
The city had attempted to work with the building's owner to address the structural issues, Davis added. Those problems came to a head this week when the brick walls began to bend in on themselves.
Joseph Fridrich currently owns the property, according to county property tax records.
Davis said he had received numerous complaints about safety concerns, but many in the neighborhood were still sad to see the building go.
"It was sad when it closed ... but the building was still here as a monument to our history, as a reflection of what this community had been able to build in the past, and inspiration for what we could build in future," Davis said. "And so, of course, to see part of it get torn down this week hurts. It really does hurt to see a building that cannot be replaced get damaged in this way."
Mike Fiala, who has lived across from the building for five decades, recalled memories of his oldest brother getting his first bike from the shop when they were kids, and later buying one for his wife.
"[My wife and I] appreciated having a bicycle shop that's an icon," he said. "The loss of Fridrich's, an icon, is really a huge loss."
Davis said the city is considering options for the rest of the building, such as condemnation, receivership or nuisance property procedures.
"This is a serious problem, and I can't bear to think of the rest of the building falling apart on our watch," Davis said. "We really do need to move aggressively to make sure stuff is maintained at this point and ... working with property owners who aren't maintaining the property."
