Amazingly, there were no injuries

A tragic accident could have had Charleston in the headlines again last week. The masonry over an entrance to the Southend Brewery restaurant caved in. Considering the crowds along East Bay Street on a Friday evening, it could have only been good luck that nobody was killed or injured.

We were dining at Cypress when the portal collapsed. The restaurant is only a few yards away. Around about 8.30 pm, its patrons heard a loud rumble and felt shaking. Through the windows, a cloud of dust was seen. Many ran to the windows to see what had happened and the street filled with spectators,

A photograph of the building showing from where the concrete and stone fell follows. Our guess of the weight of the material that fell was about 1000 lbs. But we are certain that if anybody had been underneath, they would have been killed.

We did not plan to run this item. We expected the Post & Courier to mention it in either its Saturday or Sunday editions. It didn’t and we don’t understand why? Maybe the paper did not know about the event, or it was considered unworthy of comment. The P&C has access to all police reports and there was no shortage of police in the aftermath of the collapse. So we presume it chose not to report the collapse.

We took some photographs of other parts of the building. It seems to us that the building needs attention.