A landmark building in downtown Oswego came tumbling down at the hands of demolition crews last weekend.
The building, located at 515 Commercial, was last occupied by Vail’s Automotive, owned by Matt and Fern Vail, until June 2008 when the building was deemed unsafe following a structural shift that resulted in a large hole knocked in a side-wall.
The contractor will rehab the lot with clay and rock. It then will become property of the City of Oswego.
The building was constructed in 1887 as the home of Sawyer’s Large Dry Goods and Grocery.
Over the years it also served as McCully Livery and a bus station. Most local residents remember it as a Ford agency owned by McKinney Motor Co., which later became C&F Motors then Taylor-Frogley Ford and finally Fred Taylor Ford.

After the car agency closed in 1985, the building served as the offices for American Central Energy, Inc., then as an art exhibit showroom and finally as Vail’s Automotive. The building was widely recognized because of the iron bridgework on top of the building which served as its suspension system for 123 years.
The contractor for demolition was C.J. Wass.