A large brick warehouse building on the corner of West Main Street and 18th Street under demolition had a little help from the forces of nature this morning. A portion of the second floor spilled out onto 18th Street but apparently no one was injured in the event. The building has been under a slow (and painful to watch) demolition for months now after a few bricks fell off and it was condemned. An agreement was reached with the city where the structure (once up to five stories tall, but mostly three) would be brought down to the second floor, but not the entire thing will likely go.
This is another one of those cases where the building might not have been in all that bad of shape; it might not have required demolition. We’ll never know. It seems the city is pretty heavy handed with emergency demolition orders nowadays. This was once a grand yet austere brick warehouse with a central courtyard that could have been a landmark for the neighborhood in better days.
This has been a rough time for preservation in the Russell neighborhood as buildings have disappeared and roofs partially collapsed leading to more demolitions. There are bright spots, however.
- Demo Watch: Condemning West Main’s Future (Broken Sidewalk)
- Demo Watch: West Market Street Buildings Partially Collapse, To Be Demolished (Broken Sidewalk)
- Demo Watch: How Long Can West Market Street Survive? (Broken Sidewalk)
- Historic Preservation Activity (Broken Sidewalk)
