One thing leads to another, unfortunately ...

Contractors arrived on Monday as promised to begin demolition of the Gasser Block (more commonly known these days as the Sportsman Bar building) on the south side of the square, a Chariton landmark since 1875.

By nightfall, the one-story wing at the rear of the building had been demolished, clearing the way for work on the main block of the old 41-foot by 70-foot two-story building.

The building had been standing partially collapsed and barricaded since late August, 2017, while ownership and responsibility issues were sorted out and a contractor found. 

The city eventually acquired the building and, during June of this year, purchased the one-story building next door from John Rouse --- formerly his barber shop and home. That building is expected to come down, too, as demolition proceeds.

The evident trouble for the Gasser Block began more than 18 months ago with an accelerating bulge in first-floor brickwork toward the front of the alley side of the then-vacant structure.

During mid-April, 2017, that section of brickwork collapsed into the alley.

Slightly more than four months later, during late August, 2017, the entire northeast corner of the building collapsed.

The building was constructed during 1875 for George F. Gasser (1840-1894), a prosperous baker and grocer, and his wife, Georgianna. The couple had arrived in Chariton immediately after the Civil War.

During 1885, the Gassers sold the building to Lewis Bonnett, whose vast farm southwest of Chariton was a legend in its time; and his heirs, in turn, sold the building to Howard Darlington Copeland, banker and entrepreneur, during 1899. The building has passed through many hands in the years since, housing everything from grocery stores and barber shops to, finally, a bar. The second floor, built to house offices and, originally, quarters for an early Chariton business college, became apartments.

By late afternoon Monday, the north front of the building still looked much as it had for the past year. But that will change as the week progresses. 

The building has been a survivor. The great fire of 1930, which destroyed two big buildings across the alley to the east and heavily damaged the new Ritz Theater, barely scorched its brickwork. The Kubitschek Block to the west, standing on the site now occupied by the U.S. Bank drive-up, burned in 1965. Now, however, its luck has run out.