A city-hired demolition crew recently tore down what was left of the historic Bliss Building in downtown Albuquerque, which once housed Lindy’s Diner.
The city took over the demolition after the 120-year-old building’s owners ditched plans to clean up and raze the site, The Paper reported.
The owners obtained a demolition permit on May 29 but those plans “fell apart,” officials said. The city then moved in to perform the work and placed a lien on the property to recover costs. “The City agreed to step aside based on the property owners’ word that they would take care of the demolition themselves,” said Planning Department Director Alan Varela in a written statement. “It has become very clear that they are unable or unwilling to perform the demolition in a timely manner, so the City is jumping back in to stop more harm from being inflicted on our downtown and neighboring businesses. […]
Final clean up will take several weeks, city officials say.
The city announced on Friday that the demolition was finished and that Central Avenue (aka Route 66) was back open.
Earlier this spring, the city ruled that the building was not fit for occupancy after inspectors found serious structural issues. About a week later, part of the building’s front collapsed.
The closing and subsequent collapse came a few weeks after the owners, Steve and Dawn Vatoseow, announced they were putting the Bliss Building on the market for $1.27 million.
Lindy’s originally opened as the Coney Island Cafe in 1929. It became Lindy’s Diner in 1960.
In a follow-up story, the Albuquerque Journal reported that Mayor Tim Keller signed a measure that requires more thorough inspections of vacant buildings, especially historic ones.
(Screen-capture image from KRQE-TV video of the partially collapsed Lindy’s Diner in Albuquerque)