The Ohio Supreme Court has refused to consider a demolition permit sought by owners of the King Records building in Evanston.
Court News Ohio, operated by the Ohio Supreme Court's public information office, says the court Thursday unanimously ruled that Dynamic Industries Inc., owner of the Brewster Avenue property, must "complete the city's administrative permitting process before seeking court orders to compel action."
Dynamic Industries had petitioned the Ohio First District Court of Appeals to force the city to issue a demolition permit. The appeals court dismissed the case; the Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal.
James Brown, Ruth Lyons, Bonnie Lou, Cowboy Copas, Redd Foxx, Hank Ballard, Bootsy Collins and other entertainers recorded at King Records, founded by Syd Nathan in 1943. Nathan died in 1968, and the company ceased operation by 1971.
Preservation efforts date back to 2008, when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame erected a historic marker outside the building at 1540 Brewster Ave.
The company has claimed the building overlooking I-71 south of Montgomery Road is dilapidated and unsalvageable, and that renovation is not economically viable, according to Court Ohio News.
Dynamic filed for a demolition permit on June 25 last year, after the Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation and Bootsy Collins Foundation sought a historic landmark designation from the city for the building.
Cincinnati City Council unanimously voted to designate the property at 1532-1540 Brewster Ave. a historic landmark on Oct. 7, 2015.
