Dayton, Ohio —

Howard Patterson stood outside the Wright Cycle Company — part of the national park complex dedicated to the aviation pioneers who honed their mechanical skills repairing bicycles in Dayton — on Friday, and found locked doors with a sign taped to the window.

“Due to the current lapse in federal government appropriations this site is closed to the public,” the sign said.

Orville and Wilbur Wrights' bicycle shop, the Wright Cycle Company, in Dayton, Ohio, 1937. The site is now part of the national park complex dedicated to the Wright Brothers. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

The 44-year-old DHL worker said he’d hoped to use a day off to visit a site he’d often taken his family to see. He also wanted to visit the National Museum of the US Air Force, but it was closed, too — the result of a federal government shutdown that started October 1, with no end in sight.

“I’m not political, and it’s affecting what we do,” he said. “My family is more Democratic, but right now I kind of blame Democrats, because that’s who we’re waiting on.”

The Apollo model A7LB spacesuit made for the moonwalking is seen at the Space Gallery of the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, on August 4, 2019. The museum is currently closed due to the government shutdown. Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images

Toyoua Jackson, a 39-year-old factory worker in Dayton, blamed President Donald Trump for the shutdown. She pointed to GOP cuts to health care spending.

“He needs to do things different,” she said.