A private contractor demolished a building at 141 to 143 South Locust in downtown Centralia Thursday afternoon.
The south wall of the structure facing a Centralia city parking lot had started bulging earlier in the week and the metal wall cover began to break open and bricks fell to the ground on Wednesday. The city then made arrangements with the owner to have at least one wall torn down, but instead, the entire building that had two storefronts was bulldozed. Other than issuing a demolition permit, the city was not involved in the structure being torn down.
The demolition work started at the rear of the building and moved towards the street. One of the buildings formerly housed One Hour Martinizing and the other was being used for storage.
There was concern if the adjoining building to the north would remain stable, but the structure that houses Halpin Music appears to be structurally sound and will not have to be torn down.
By the end of the day Thursday, a giant pile of bricks and other debris was all that was left of the 141 to 143 South Locust building. Removal of some of the debris was underway on Friday.
Demolition is underway on the downtown Locust Street building.
Another view of the Thursday afternoon demolition of a failing building on North Locust in downtown Centralia.
Another view of the North Locust Street building coming down.
What’s left of the building by Thursday night with the Halpin Music building next door appearing to be in good shape along with the discovery of an unusually placed 2nd-floor door. Photo by Steven Stilt.
