Downtown Columbia’s Guitar Building evacuated after partial wall collapse

The City of Columbia closed a downtown street Wednesday after a partial wall collapse and evacuated the building Thursday.

The city closed Walnut Street between Eighth and Ninth streets Wednesday afternoon. A Columbia Fire Department official told ABC 17 News that bricks fell onto the roof of the Guitar Building and that nothing was structurally wrong with the building. No bricks fell into the street.

The northbound parking lanes of Eighth Street between Broadway and Walnut were also closed.

The building was not evacuated Wednesday but that changed Thursday morning, when Columbia Public Works said in a social media post that it had been evacuated.

Following a partial collapse of non-structural wall elements at the Guitar Building at 34 N. Eighth St., a block of East Walnut Street is closed. pic.twitter.com/gdZDwHqW5Z

— Columbia Public Works (@pub_works) December 15, 2022

Andy Hirth, who works inside the Guitar Building, said he heard a "terrible" sound around the time of the call.

"There was a terrible sound of something falling about 15 minutes ago and now they’re fire trucks outside. No one has told us to leave, though, “ he said at around 3 p.m.

Officials did not say how long the street would be closed.