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City declares historic building unsafe
Cracks, shifting columns put stability in doubt
BY JASON MARKUSOFF, CALGARY HERALDJANUARY 20, 2010
The city has closed down a 98-year-old* Beltline building whose exterior brickwork shows large cracks and interior columns are separating from the wall.
The Artists of the World building at 514 11th Ave. S.W. lost all its tenants a month ago, when the company that ran the art gallery and event planner went into receivership.
It will stay empty for some time, as yellow signs on its doors attest. On Friday, city inspectors deemed it unsafe for any occupants.
"We just felt that the stability of the building was not at a level that would allow people -- the owner, employees or public in general -- to occupy it," said Kevin Griffiths, Calgary's chief building inspector.
The largest crack on the 1912 building's side is several centimetres wide and extends from the floor to the third-storey roof, with yellow foam sealant between the spreading bricks. But it was the internal problems with columns and other parts of the structure that most troubled inspectors.
"Portions of the building are moving while others are not, and that causes us concern," Griffiths said Tuesday....
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*Note: Built in 1912 as Canadian Equipment and Supply warehouse. On City inventory as a Community Heritage Resource.