T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Lil Gerardo's owner and operator and Bellaire Historic Landmarks Commission member Lori Vinka, from left, Bellaire Party Center and Deli owner and operator and commission member Dwight Jenewein, Chairman John Smith, Belmont College student and Commission member Riley Kendall, Commission member Bill West, and Mayor and Commission Member Robert Dodrill display the new sign showcasing some of the locally owned businesses the village has to offer.

BELLAIRE – The Historic Landmarks Commission is wanting to make the village become the Italian quarter of the Ohio Valley.

On Wednesday, the commission erected a sign showcasing four locally Italian-owned businesses in the village.

The sign is located at the onramp where W. 26th Street goes south on State Route 7 near Burger King.

Chairman John Smith said the commission was created because the village is legally required to have one due to it having a historic viaduct.

“Wheeling has one too, but ours was defunct until former mayor [Ed] Marling said that we better get this thing,” Smith said. “We’re trying to expand the historic district a little bit and trying to celebrate the history of Bellaire.”

He added that his son Derek Smith is a building preservation and restoration teacher at Belmont College and has partnered with the commission to allow his students to join the commission as their internship.

Student Riley Kendall has used the partnership to gain experience during her internship.

She said that she joined the commission because she’s always loved architecture and buildings. “I didn’t want to go into making new buildings. I really wanted to focus on preserving old buildings and keeping the buildings that we already have in the area,” Kendall said. “This is my first real get-together with the group. I’ve had the opportunity to attend because of scheduling purposes with my other college classes, but I’m excited to see where it takes me.”

Commission member Bill West added that he joined the group because he’s been a lifelong member of the community and wants to preserve the village’s heritage.

“I think if we don’t preserve our history, we’ll lose a lot of what it used to be and why people would come here. I just think it’s important that we preserve history in general,” West said. “It’s sad when we go up through the village and see a lot of vacant lots and buildings. I realize buildings cost a lot of money to restore, but when it’s done and done right it just makes a huge difference in the environment of the village.”

Smith added that the commission has pivoted to making its main priority preserving the culture of the village.

“Buildings come and go. We try to save what is historic, but we’re gonna start promoting the heritage first,” Smith said. “We’re going to work on getting an Italian Quarter. It’s the ‘All American Town’ now and we don’t want to change anything. It’s still the All American town, but we want to become the Italian Quarter of the Ohio Valley, like the French Quarter of New Orleans. When you come to the Ohio Valley, make sure you come over and enjoy some good, fine real Italian food.”

The new sign currently showcases four local businesses: The Sons of Italy, Lil Gerardo’s, Gulla’s and Bellaire Party Center and Deli.

Smith said that he hopes the new sign will attract attention to not only the four businesses on the sign but also all of the other businesses in the village.

Mayor Robert Dodrill is the newest addition to the group. He said that he was brought in after winning his position in November.

“There are an awful lot of great businesses in town. When they actually put the highway through, it really killed a lot of things here in town, because cars came right through the center of town. So all of our businesses were booming, but then when the highway hit, they bypass a lot of stuff,” he said. “With the new sign, people are going to see it and know that they can stop and see what the village has and it also shows off some of the heritage.”