Delta lost one of its best structures after it collapsed in June and the fire chief ordered demolition; the antique store had closed just 40 minuets before the collapse.

 

From The Toledo Blade:

 

 

What remained when I arrived

 

 

The building sat opposite of this old bank structure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This comical accident happened while I was walking around

 

 

 

 

 

 

A unique church

Do you know what caused the structural damage?

I'll bet the car/bike wreck occurred when the driver of the car was distracted by the sight of someone taking pictures of the buildings. In those small towns, when you point a camera at something, people turn their heads to see what's so interesting.

Great little town but,

Ink,

 

What a loss for a small town. Italianate style commercial buildings of this type graced many town squares in the 1860's and 1870's-it was a fine, intact specimen. Massive collapses of walls like this do not usually happen out of the blue. Did a car or truck crash into the wall? Another possibility is that water got into the masonry and weakened it. In any event, a structural failure of this kind can often be stabilized and repaired, if the owner and municipality code dept. allow it. Given that is is on a major street corner and code/building safety inspectors tend to err on the side of caution, repair or stabilization were probably never even considered. Another historic building lost forever.

^The article linked above is all I've been able to find on the demolition. I assumed it was years of water damage as no crashes were involved. You are right, this was a very important building for tiny Delta; their downtown will never regain the character it had with that block intact. Here is the Blade article:

 

Delta store's wall collapses 40 minutes after closing

No injuries are reported; antique shop demolished

 

By BRIDGET THARP

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

DELTA, Ohio - The west wall of a downtown antique store, a structure that had concerned village officials for some time, collapsed late yesterday afternoon.

 

There were no reports of injuries when the wall of the Delta Antique Market, 301 East Main St., fell about 5:40 p.m.

 

The store, which had been open during the day, closed 40 minutes earlier. Nobody was inside at the time.

 

The cause of the collapse was not immediately known, but Village Administrator Derek Allen said the fire department had expressed concern about the two-story building.

 

"There was no analysis done. But just by looking at the condition of the building, there was concern," he said.

 

The structure at Main and Monroe Street was built in 1900, according to Fulton County Auditor records.

 

Denise Sinclair, 37, of Delta, said she and her daughter were in the store in April and it appeared the ceiling was falling and there was duct tape covering cracks in the wall.

 

"We just went back downstairs because we didn't feel safe," she said.

 

Last night, Fire Chief Chuck Hudson ordered the building demolished.

 

"You see that brick up there," he said, gesturing toward brick that remained without any support. "It might fall."

 

Owner Fran Hartzell turned her head away and cried as the bucket of a crane smashed through the remains of the store she and her husband, Elden, spent 18 years filling with antiques.

 

The Wauseon couple bought the about 3,300-square-foot building in October, 2000 for $50,000, auditor records show.

 

The fire chief's wife, Mabel Hudson, saw the wall collapse as she drove down Main.

 

She said she heard "a loud noise, just like a rumble" as bricks dropped onto the pavement, creating a huge brown cloud.

 

Tiffany Leininger, owner of Jan's Bridal Shop across the street, was in her shop and didn't see or "hear a thing" as the wall fell.

 

But she knew something was going on when she heard sirens and then saw emergency crews. When she looked outside, she saw what was causing the commotion.

 

"The west wall of the antiques store is pretty much gone," she said. "Brick is laying all in Monroe Street."

 

Ms. Leininger said the antique market drew customers from people who were visiting the area for camping or other activities.

 

The shop typically is stocked with a huge variety of items, ranging from church pews to mirrored beer signs and kitchen tables to tools.

 

Displays in its large windows facing Main, which is the heavily traveled U.S. 20A/State Rt. 2 through the village, were its main advertising.

 

Delta police and Fulton County sheriff's deputies also responded to the incident.

 

Staff writers Meghan Gilbert and Jane Schmucker contributed to this report.

 

Contact Bridget Tharp at:

[email protected]

or 419-724-6061.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080613/NEWS17/806130382

Interesting.