The Story Behind the Legacy – The Dodds Memorials building

In Xenia, Ohio only two structures stand out over all others in the eyes of its citizens and visitors to the city.  The first is the unique architecture of the County Courthouse, and the other is the iconic Dodds Memorials building.  There are many stories and legends surrounding the creation of this beautiful structure.  Let us take a walk through the legends and the facts.

Rebuilt in 1905-06

The laid cornerstone of the building leads to speculation concerning its origins.  The first story, derived from piecemealed facts, recalls George Dodds travelling to St. Louis during the 1904 Worlds Fair. At the fair he purchases a building temporarily built along a stretch of road called The Pike.  This mile long stretch of road housed attractions and entertainment for fair goers to enjoy.  There were many structures along the Pike, thus laying the foundation for this legend. 

Proven through research, the Dodds building never existed as a whole structure at the St. Louis Worlds Fair.  In reality, George Dodds discovered he could get a good deal on the lumber left over when the city tore down the temporary pavilions at the fair and used this lumber to “rebuild” the company offices where his original establishment once stood.

Features of the Building

The building was stick built then clad with Indiana limestone and sandstone.  The front of the building is adorned with multiple granite columns believed to come from Dodds’ native Scotland.  The entire building is held together by three sets of large beams at the roofline.  Each beam has tie rods attached that run to the outside walls of the building.  This allowed for the large showroom on the first floor to be free of support beams.  The front of the building houses the showroom which has an overhead crane track concealed in the outside wall structure.  This allows for movement of memorials from the back production area into and out of the showroom.  The upper three floors of the building contain nine shotgun style apartments.  These apartments are adorned with two sets of nine-foot oak pocket doors each.

Surely the newly built space was the pride of George Dodds and the pride of Xenia.  The Dodds family planted itself squarely in the middle of the community, building several residential houses close to the office.  To this day the building stands as the anchor for West Main Street in Xenia, even surviving the 1974 tornado.  Just like the City of Xenia itself, Dodds endures through years of success and tribulation, a fitting testament to its founder and his adopted hometown.