We've all heard by now of yesterday's partial building collapse at 79th & Halsted in Auburn Gresham that injured four. The roof level of the ornate and vacant terra cotta structure spontaneously tumbled onto scaffolding and into the street (CBS has pics and a video). That the city's decade of ownership produced no restorative efforts should come as no surprise, but, according to Fire Commish Robert Hoff, a tree had long-since pushed its way through the roof directly exposing the inside to the elements. With that kind of structural damage, you'd hope for action (though we can think up other similarly threatening sites off the top of our heads). And there was action. The city began demolition late last night. [CBS]
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