Ed Kemmick/Last Best News
A crew from Cayton Excavation made short work of tearing down a vacant house at 115 N. 22nd St. Tuesday morning.
Eyesore No. 1 came down in about 15 minutes Tuesday morning.
As we reported Monday, Carol Kraft had purchased a piece of property at 115 N. 22nd St. with the sole purpose of tearing down two abandoned houses on the lot. The decrepit houses had been lived in by a succession of squatters over the years.
The property was also the site of frequent vandalism, graffiti, varmint infestations and at least one fire. Tuesday morning, Billings police officers went through both houses to make sure nobody was inside.
Kraft said they were both empty, despite evidence of recent habitation. After the sweep, Cayton Excavation went to work shortly before 9:30 a.m. and leveled the front house in 15 or 20 minutes.
After the remains of that house were hauled away, the crew from Cayton planned to demolish the back-lot house and a burnt-out old shed. Kraft’s not sure what she’ll do with the property, but for now her tenants in a duplex at 119 N. 22nd will have some peace.
And while we’re on the subject of heavy equipment tearing down old buildings, here’s a photo of the continuing effort to demolish the old Parmly Billings Library. The Billings Gazette reports that, after a long period of inactivity, crews on working on asbestos abatement before resuming demolition.
Ed Kemmick/Last Best News
Slowly but surely, the old Parmly Billings Library is coming down.
A few blocks from the old library, demolition continues on McKinley Elementary School. The old kindergarten annex (where two of your correspondent’s daughters were introduced to the public school system) is being demolished to make way for a new three-story wing that will match the century-old school.
Ed Kemmick/Last Best News
The old kindergarten annex is being demolished at McKinley Elementary School.
