Yesterday city workers began to remove the most dangerous elements of a historic mansion which suffered a fire last October in the Dos de Mayo plaza of downtown Lima.
Officials were quick to rule out the demolition of the 90-year-old building given its cultural heritage. Within one week of the fire, the city of Lima and Peru’s cultural ministry announced it would work together to restore the structure over the next year.
But with no visible progress for over five months since the fire, local residents increased calls for action in the last month as the building appeared to be at risk of collapse. Firefighters and construction workers began removing parts of the structure that posed a risk of falling on pedestrians below. The balconies of the historic building were preserved unharmed.
On October 16, a fire caused the complete collapse of the building’s third-floor attic and the partial collapse of the third-floor ceiling. The fire also damaged the walls and other elements of the first and second floors.
The building is one of eight facing the circular Dos de Mayo plaza built in 1924 by millionaire and philanthropist Victor Larco during the government of Augusto Leguia.
See a photo essay of the historic building over the ages at El Comercio.
Sources:
Ministerio de Cultura supervisa trabajos de emergencia en edificio (Andina)
Casona en plaza Dos de Mayo comenzó a ser desmantelada (FOTOS) (El Comercio)
Incendio en Plaza Dos de Mayo: casona no será derrumbada (El Comercio)
Casona incendiada de Plaza Dos de Mayo en riesgo de colapsar (El Comercio)
Plaza Dos de Mayo: casona incendiada pone en peligro a peatones y vehículos ante inminente colapso (La Republica)
Casona destruida por incendio pone en peligro a traseúntes (El Comercio)
Incendio en plaza Dos de Mayo afecta antigua casona (El Comercio)
