Old Gospel House is
demolished

LOOGOOTEE, Ind. (WTHI) - A century old building in a southern Indiana community came crashing to the ground.

The Old Gospel House in Loogootee had been vacant for the last decade. But before that, it was a fraternal lodge, the Ritz Movie Theater and a country music theater that hosted legends like Little Jimmie Dickens and Grandpa Jones.

"It's sad because it's another piece of beautiful architecture coming down in a city making it less of a city," Vickie Williams said.

Community leaders in Loogootee didn't want to demolish the building, but they had to after it began collapsing.

"It was at the point it had to go. The assessment was it was in imminent danger of collapse, which meant the life, health and safety of the citizens of Loogootee were at stake," Loogootee Mayor Don Bowling said.

Officials said so far getting the building down to this point has cost about seven-thousand dollars, but the big problem is going to be the east wall. Bringing that wall down will cost 30-thousand dollars, and officials still don't have an estimate on what it will cost to haul off the debris.

They did say they believe the building's owner is responsible for this final act, and intend to try and get him to pay for the work.
News 10 was unable to contact the building's owner, Vernon Yoder, for comment.