YPA Counts Down the Top Ten: #9 Bantam Building, Butler County

For the next several days, until May 21, YPA will count down its 2010 list of the Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities on its blog. On Friday, May 21, YPA will host a Historic Preservation Month Celebration, "Old is the New Green," at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty, starting at 6:00 p.m.

Registration details are on YPA's website, http://www.youngpreservationists.org.

Since 2003, YPA has celebrated historic preservation with its annual list of the Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area. The list, compiled from nominations received from various individuals and organizations, is designed to encourage investment in historic sites throughout the nine-county southwestern Pennsylvania region. The list has been used by property owners to draw positive attention to their properties, raise investment funds, secure grants, and generate political goodwill for their historic sites.

The sites featured on YPA's list come from six different counties and include industrial structures, Main Street commercial buildings, schools, a train station, and a bridge. Main Street features prominently in the list, with four of the Top Ten sites being situated in an existing Main Street commercial district. The remaining six sites are within blocks of an existing Main Street community.

The criteria used to select the Top Ten List include the following:

1. 50-year Threshold (is it 50 years old or older);

2. Historic & Architectural Significance;

3. Threats to the Site;

4. Community Input; and

5. Feasibility of the Solution.

#9 Bantam Building, Butler County

The Bantam building was built circa 1899-1900 by the Davis Lead Company, which later became the American Bantam Car Company circa 1929. The building’s historical significance came in 1940 when freelance design engineer Karl Probst and the American Bantam Car Company designed the winning U.S. Army prototype for a new Second World War military vehicle. The American Bantam Car Factory was the birthplace of the first jeep, and was commissioned to produce nearly 3,000 jeeps to help with the war efforts.

The Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau and City of Butler are presently working with AK Steel (current building and property owner) to protect this 10,000-square-foot vacant building from further deterioration.

Several community groups including the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau, the Butler County Historical Society, Butler Downtown, and the City of Butler would like to see this building preserved as a reminder of the great importance the jeep played in helping end the Second World War and becoming a brand that is still being used today. In 2010-11 the Butler County Tourism Bureau will be remembering and celebrating this invention with the first Jeep Heritage Festival to mark the 70th year of the invention of the jeep.