Partial Building Collapse at Town Square

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 By Echo Menges 

Memphis, MO – Sunday, July 2, 2023 – Just ten days after the City of Memphis made the decision to close down a section of Main Street southwest of the Memphis Town Square as a safety precaution, a section of the Shoop building came crashing down overnight. The building is located at 101 East Monroe Street, on the southeast corner of the Monroe and Main street intersection. 

The decision was made to close the street alongside the building by Mayor Mike Ahland on June 21, after the City received several reports from citizens that the building was in danger of collapsing. Two bulging sections of the building along Main Street had become noticeably larger prior to the closure. 

According to Memphis Police Captain Bill Holland, the partial collapse occurred at approximately 11:18 p.m. Saturday night, July 1. Some local teenagers were near the Town Square at the time of the collapse, but were not in the immediate vicinity of the building. 

Captain Holland and Mayor Ahland responded to the scene immediately after the partial collapse. 

“The street was already blocked off, and it didn’t cause any problems. We wanted to make sure no one was in danger in the area,” MPD Capt. Bill Holland told the Memphis Democrat. “There weren’t very many kids on the square either. It didn’t fall on the Town Square side of the building. The building debris was contained to the closed portion of Main Street.” 

Since the partial collapse, more bricks have fallen from the building and Main Street on the east side of the building remains closed to the public. 

“There isn’t any reason to clean it up right now, because more of it will come down,” Mayor Mike Ahland told the Memphis Democrat on Sunday afternoon. “We are going to leave the barricades up. People have to use their judgment about being on the sidewalk across the street, and stay away from in between the barricades (on the street portion of Main Street).” 

Curious people have been steadily visiting the collapse site to see the damage for themselves. A passerby told the Memphis Democrat he heard the collapse from about a block away and went to the site to see what happened. He reported smelling the odor of asbestos in the air right after the collapse, which smelled like the old style of brake pads.