Laborers began demolition on Liberty St. building Friday

The demolition process on the 322 Liberty St. building has started and should take around a week, according to a Facebook post from the City of Morris on Thursday.

The City of Morris said the area will be brought to a level that makes it safe for city streets and sidewalks to be open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Jefferson Street remains closed and the sidewalk remains closed off.

The building’s roof collapsed on the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 17, displacing the residents on the second floor, and the insurance agency and doctor’s offices on the bottom floor. The City of Morris and Chamlin and Associates then investigated to see if the building could still be occupied.

Nobody was injured and everyone made it out of the building safely. The rest of the block has been deemed safe.

Matt Laker from the Morris History Club Facebook page shared information on the building with the Morris Herald-News, which includes many of the past occupants. Construction on the building was finished in 1916 according to an identifying stone, although the location was the home of P. Haitz and Co. Confectionary, listed as early as 1877.

Since then, it has been everything from a toy store to the Roth Insurance Agency and the Roth-Jorstad Insurance Agency, a Coast to Coast hardware store, doctor’s offices, an art store, to Mable’s Beauty Shoppe.