For nearly 100 years, the tiny structure on the southwest corner of Fifth & York Streets had been a regular site for motorists coming into or going around Newport.

That building's story ended on Tuesday as it finally met its fate, first hinted in July 2014 when the city commission voted to transfer a grant previously allocated for the old gas station to the Riverfront Commons trail project.

In 2007, the City of Newport received $272,000 from the Commonwealth of Kentucky to move and renovate the building, The River City News reported in 2014. The building has been owned by a limited partnership called Wiedemann Square since 2006, according to Campbell County property records.

Plans for the structure included a possible move to 10th and Saratoga Streets where it would have become a hub for the bicycle community, or to the 700 block of Monmouth Street where it could have become a visitors center and a bike rental place.

In 2014, City Manager Tom Fromme told The River City News that at one time there was a development site for the building's original site, but the city fought plans to tear down the gas station.

After delays in all those plans, the cost to move the structure doubled, Fromme said at the time. Consultants, he said, told the city that the building suffered heavy water damage and would likely be razed.

That's what happened on Tuesday.

"It's bittersweet," said Mayor Jerry Peluso, in 2014. "There's very few of those buildings left. It's a prime example of what happens when you don't take care of a building."

-Staff report