Beardstown Odd Fellows Building In Danger of Collapse

By Benjamin Cox on August 13, 2021 at 8:54am

A Beardstown landmark is in danger of coming down.

The Cass County Star Gazette says that the former International Organization of Odd Fellows Building located at 121 Main Street in Beardstown is showing significant cracks in a column in the front facade of the building, revealing damage to the integrity of the building.

Beardstown Mayor Tim Harris told the Star Gazette that the condition of the building has worsened over the week. He said structural engineers have determined that the building is in danger of imminent collapse. A portion of the downstairs of the building was currently housing the Main Street Tap bar. Utilities have been shut off to the building and a safety fence now surrounds the perimeter of the building. The bar has moved out its equipment and operations since Sunday.

The building was built in 1889 by the Odd Fellows as their meeting hall. The Star Gazette says the Bley Family purchased the building in 1965. It has had several ventures in the building since then. The Odd Fellows symbol still sits on the top of the building.

It’s the second historical building in Beardstown’s downtown riverfront district that may come down in the year after a fire consumed the old Meyer Hotel on East Fourth Street in May.