Downtown New Orleans building partially collapses: Photos | News

Hundreds of bricks fell onto the sidewalks of two streets in downtown New Orleans Saturday evening when a three-story building partially collapsed, fire officials said.

The brick facade of the mixed-use space at O’Keefe Avenue and Lafayette Street in the Central Business District began to collapse around 7:40 p.m. Witnesses walking near the area reported seeing clouds of dust and hearing loud bangs as the bricks hit the ground.

The exterior walls began cracking and shifting and the corner of the building gave way, destroying an outward-facing door leading to a first-floor art gallery.

There were few, if any, people in the building at the time of the collapse and the building was evacuated, a NOFD news release said. The building, which houses several offices and the Helis Foundation’s John Scott Center, is close to several other high-rises, hotels, apartments and restaurants. As of 12:15 a.m. Sunday, no other buildings in the immediate area had been evacuated.

A fire department official at the scene said the sounds of banging and cracking could be heard about every five minutes for some time, but had diminished by 11 p.m. At least one engineer was inspecting the outside of the structure at 11:30 p.m

NOPD, NOFD and Entergy are on scene and will monitor the area until the construction issues are contained and it no longer poses a public safety concern. Traffic on the block where the partial collapse occurred will be rerouted.

Despite the hustle and bustle, business was normal nearby, with restaurants full of people making Saturday reservations. Across the street from the rubble, a crowd gathered to attend a performance at the Civic Theater.

Residents who live in condos and apartments on the block tried to take a look at the damage and took photos or videos. Others had heard nothing at all in their homes and were shocked to see the fire trucks and yellow barricade blocking O’Keefe Avenue.