The rear portion of a century-old building in downtown Bristow, Oklahoma, along Route 66 collapsed Sunday.
The building’s owner, Charlie Elliott, noticed the building starting to sag Friday and put barricades around it. The structure reportedly was built in 1903.
City officials blocked off Sixth Avenue in that block in case more of the building collapses into the street.
Here’s a Facebook Live report from a KTUL reporter from Tulsa:
The building’s owner is Charlie Elliott, known for his Route 66 Biker Rally (link may be NSFW) in nearby Depew, Oklahoma, that contains an original stretch of Route 66 in the property line. He talked to KTUL:
“I’m very upset that it fell and we have full intentions in restoring it and rebuilding it if we can,” said Elliott. […]
Elliott thinks poor infrastructure caused his to fall.
“When those sandstones started crumbling it didn’t have anywhere to go but down,” said Elliott.
And now the city is left with a big mess on their hands.
Those who’ve read Route 66 News a long time may recall Elliott persuading Depew village trustees to annex the land for his biker rally in 2011. Creek County shut down at least one of his gatherings because they were so rowdy — including topless karaoke — that neighbors complained.
Once the structures of old buildings like Elliott’s are compromised, they are very difficult to repair. Restoring it isn’t impossible, but the outlook remains grim.
(Screen-capture image from KTUL video of the collapsed building in downtown Bristow, Oklahoma)
How much heavy traffic uses the road? Was the collapse down to long term vibration? Or sudden foundation failure for some reason? Does someone want the whole building replaced with a new one?