Store front falls in Jefferson City

Plaster coating the front of Leed’s Shoe Store came crashing down this weekend, closing sidewalks and parking spaces on East High Street in downtown Jefferson City.

Two elderly women near the building at the time. One of the jumped to escape the plaster. The only injuries were a few scrapes on one of the women’s hands.

Construction crews have been working on cleaning out the building for the new owner. They already filled seven dumpsters before the accident, including six large windows, which had been covered by plaster and metal sheeting before they were removed.

The building’s new owner, Rich Howerton, agreed to secure and build a fence around the work area.

Witnesses and Jefferson City building specialists are blaming the wind for the collapse.

“The wind came and actually blew the inside of the plaster off,” said Larry Burkhardt, a building specialist for Jefferson City.

One woman who works next door to where Leed’s used to be saw it happen.

“It just came crashing down and dust, debris flew in here you know, we were sweeping it out the rest of the day,” said Brooke Wolfson.

Burkhardt said although the building is old it is in pretty good shape.

He said it was just a combination of wind and remodeling that caused the collapse.

The building was built in the early 1900’s.