Sinkhole endangers historic tavern August 2, 2006
Posted by Ron in Events.trackback
The 114-year-old building on old Route 66 in Galena, Kan., that houses the Green Parrot tavern likely will become a memory because of a rapidly enlarging sinkhole that’s already collapsed part of the structure.
Authorities were able to evacuate the tavern’s owners, who lived on the second floor, before the building became too structurally compromised. The police chief says it probably will have to be condemned, and the hole keeps getting bigger. At last report, it was about 70 feet across.
The sinkhole is caused by the collapse of an underground mine. Southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri and northeast Oklahoma has these mines all over the place.
Most of the residents of Picher, Okla., will be relocated because the town is dangerously undermined. I fear that Galena eventually faces the same fate. The sinkhole, if it gets any bigger, may also threaten an old stretch of Route 66 nearby.
Here’s the latest about the sinkhole, including an alarming photo of the sinkhole and rapidly deteriorating building, from the Joplin (Mo.) Globe.
Here’s a short video from KTKA Channel 49 in Topeka.
Here’s a lengthier report from the Associated Press.
[...] trackback Last summer, the historic Green Parrot tavern along Route 66 in Galena, Kan., was damaged when a giant sinkhole opened up behind the property. The hole was caused by the collapse of one of the old underground lead mines [...]
[...] building, which is more than 100 years old, became structurally unsafe when a sinkhole unexpectedly opened up behind the property in August 2006, causing part of the building to fall into the hole. The sinkhole was caused by a [...]