By Echo Menges
The City of Memphis closed a section of Main Street just south of the Monroe Street junction on the southwest corner of the Town Square early Wednesday morning, June 21, 2023.
The closure was made after noticeable changes to the west-facing wall of the Shoop building showed more obvious signs of instability in recent days with growing protrusions of at least two bulging sections of the wall, which is made of bricks and covered by siding.
The Shoop building is located at 101 East Monroe Street on the southeast corner of the Main Street and Monroe Street intersection.
“We have had reports from the public that the building is in danger of collapsing,” City Administrator Stacy Alexander told The Memphis Democrat. “The street is closed as a safety precaution.”
According to Alexander, City of Memphis Mayor Mike Ahland made the decision to close the street.
The Shoop building is currently unoccupied, as is the neighboring building to the east, which is owned by Dr. Darrell Monroe. Monroe operates his chiropractic business just two doors down from the Shoop building.
On the south side of the Shoop building, Larry’s Barber Shop, is operating as usual and customers are asked to park on the south side of the road closure barricades. On the west side of the Shoop building, and across Main Street, Corner Perk is operating as usual and customers are asked to park on Monroe Street north of the barricades.
It is unknown what or if anything can be done to the building by the City of Memphis. The building owners reportedly do not have the means to pay for demolition or costly repairs.
“If the building falls, the city can go ahead and clean it up,” said Alexander.
The public is asked to stay off of the section of Main Street closed off by the yellow barricades, and to use caution in the area.
