Collapsed wall of historic building prompts Cleburne officials to launch safety review
Cleburne Mayor Scott Cain is asking for a report to assess the health of the city’s downtown buildings after a rear wall partially collapsed at a well-known historic building housing a bridal shop.
Cain said the report will be presented to the city council, adding that the buildings are routinely inspected, but some may need to be inspected again after the report is completed.
Early Friday morning, part of the rear wall at the Gustafson Building collapsed into an alley, and the city closed nearby businesses and blocked traffic in the area as a safety precaution.
“At this point, we don’t know the cause or what happened,” Cain said. “The back wall near the alley developed some cracks and rapidly deteriorated. A portion of it collapsed which prompted us to step in for safety reasons,” he said.
Cain described how a hole opened in the wall and bricks also started falling. “There was a concern that if the rest of the wall came loose, the second story would collapse into the first floor, and the whole building would collapse,” he said.
The council held an emergency meeting Friday night, Cain said.
“With what happened in Florida, people are more acutely aware of safety,” he said.
City officials contacted a contractor and an engineer. The contractor arrived Saturday morning to shore up the building, Cain said. The city is also waiting on a report from an engineer on whether the building is safe.
Mollie Mims, who has written several books on Cleburne’s history, said records show that the building was home to a variety of stores and businesses dating back to 1885 when it was divided into stores selling dry goods and groceries.
In 1888, the building was home to Gentleman’s Furnishings and Dry Goods. Over the years, other businesses included Clayton Dry Goods with an upstairs office for Kilpatrick & Morrison real estate, loans and insurance in 1899, and Scott Department store.
During the 1950s, Ben Franklin Department Store also was located in the historic building. In the 1960s and 1970s, the building was also home to Lintz Department Store and the Gift and Tot Shop in 1987, Mims said.
The Gustafson building is now the home of Brides and Beyond.
Andrew Guzman, who now owns the historic building, said he started his bridal shop there about 20 years ago.
He saved his pennies and bought the building right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Now, he is also waiting for the reports about the safety of his building.
“It’s just a crazy thing. I don’t have any details on what exactly happened,” he said.
Guzman said officials notified him about what happened on Friday.
He was able to get his merchandise out, and another downtown business owner gave him space for his bridal shop until he figures out what to do next.
“We’ve had a tremendous outpouring of love and support from our neighbors. There are people trying to establish funds to help us. That is something that has humbled us and brought us to tears multiple, multiple times,” he said.
