Massachusetts City Considers Demolishing Unstable Former Hotel

Holyoke, Mass., officials are deciding what to do with a former hotel after the building partially collapsed.

Officials say sections of the exterior brick wall of the now-vacant 134-year-old Essex House gave way Thursday with some debris falling on the roof of an adjacent beauty salon.

No injuries were reported, but a portion of High Street was closed and a nearby apartment building was evacuated as a precaution.

The Republican newspaper of Springfield reports that Holyoke officials plan to announce a demolition plan Friday.

Mayor Alex Morse’s chief of staff says the building is “completely unstable.”

Essex House was once one of the city’s largest hotels and later served briefly as housing for the elderly. The city took ownership of the building last year for nonpayment of taxes.