FAIRBURY - Less than two weeks after a century-old building in Fairbury first began to collapse, the site of the defunct former car dealership has almost been completely cleared out.

Flash back to last Thursday, the building, originally erected in 1920, was still standing, with E Street around it blocked off and fences upright, intended to provide a barrier to contain the splash from an impending demolition.

That demolition began the next day. By Friday morning, demolition crews had begun the process of bringing the building to the ground.


Fast forward to this week: this Thursday, crews from the city of Fairbury had some heavy machinery out, continuing to clear the surface of the debris from last week's initial demolition process.

And by Friday, the site had been almost completed cleared. Traffic on E Street was back to flowing normally, Harvest Chinese Restaurant next door was back open for business as usual with access to their parking lot restored.
The nearby buildings, including the gas station that's been around for just about as long, are still standing, thanks partially to protection plans during the demolition.

After just a two-week process, now there's so sign of the building that had resided on this stretch of land for more than 100 years.


The property owner, Ryan Bartels, is responsible for the cost of the demolition, but the city said last week if they acquire the land they could convert it into additional parking for Fairbury's downtown.