The city of Albia is restricting residents from entering an area of its town square due to a partial building collapse on Sunday.
No one was injured when the unoccupied building, known as the Skean Block, crumpled, forcing city officials to close Benton Avenue.
Built in 1889, local historian Tom Woodard says the building started as a furniture store and has seen many iterations.
“Over the years, there [were] a couple of taverns and a cafe, and there was even a hair salon in there in the early ’60s,” Woodard explained. “But the significance is obviously the front. The façade is a major part of the square.”
Woodard says the building most recently housed a microbrewery about a year ago. Albia Chamber Main Street has since tried to find a new occupant for the historic site.
The building’s partial collapse resulted in a large amount of debris in Princeton Alley, a walkway adjacent to Skean Block. Woodard says the structure’s wall must be secured before the rubble can be cleared.
The cause of the building’s collapse has yet to be determined.
