Building wall collapses in Tombstone

TOMBSTONE, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Tombstone business owners were in for a surprise Friday night when they got a call that a wall had collapsed between Tombstone Oil 'n' Vinegar and Vogan's Alley Bar.

James Ellsberry, owner of Vogan's Alley Bar, never expected anything like this to happen, but he says he has been given the clearance to be open on Labor Day weekend, a busy time for Tombstone.

Not every business was that lucky. Tombstone Oil 'n' Vinegar will remain closed for a  while. The owner of the building said the incident is really hurting him.

Contractors said it looks like the cause of the collapse may have been rain.

"After years and years of water penetration inside of adobe is the reason why. It just fell apart at the bottom, it just crumbled and turned into sand or dirt and it just gave way and fell over," said Bill Goethe, owner of Mr. Fix It.

Goethe's crews are working to re-enforce the structure before they take any steps in removing the wall. The wall was built more than 100 years ago.

"The adobe was put in here, I believe, 1891. They actually had a display in the store that shows the adobe and gives the date," he said.

But crews will not throw the adobe bricks away; the city has other plans for them.

"The town mayor was here earlier, and they plan on selling the adobe to help restore the building, so it's pretty incredible," said Goethe.
 
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