Spirtas Wrecking crews advance demolition of unsafe Dixon building in Boonville

Crews from Spirtas Wrecking Company had been on site for about two weeks when demolition work on Feb. 25, 2026, at a long‑decaying three‑story structure known locally as the “Dixon” building resulted in the façade and upper floors collapsing onto neighboring properties at 215 S 3rd Street in Boonville, Warrick County, Indiana, authorities said. One surrounding building was completely destroyed and at least two others were damaged, but officials reported that nobody was injured or killed.

Boonville Mayor Charlie Wyatt described the building’s rapid deterioration, saying, “The roof had just went away… and weather had gotten in. It had rapidly deteriorated the last couple of years.” Streets were closed on Monday as crews began demolition and city officials say they made every effort to ensure people renting adjacent apartments and owners of nearby businesses were out of those spaces before work started.

Reports and documents in circulation identify multiple addresses and jurisdictions tied to structures called the “Dixon” building, and those references have not been reconciled. One local summary places a Dixon building at the corner of Knox and Liberty Streets in downtown Booneville, another source names the Boonville address at 215 S 3rd Street, and a City of Barbourville, Kentucky, request for proposals lists a Dixon Building at 116 Knox Street in downtown Barbourville. The materials do not explicitly state these are the same property.

The City of Barbourville RFP, dated August 25, 2025, seeks a qualified demolition and abatement contractor for a three‑story, vacant brick building the document calls the Dixon Building and notes it was “constructed around 1900” and originally known as the Parker Building. That RFP references a June 2021 partial collapse, says emergency stabilization was necessary, and warns that intact removal of asbestos‑containing materials would pose safety and collateral damage concerns to adjoining, possibly occupied, properties.

City officials and responding authorities closed streets and kept a bar a few doors down shuttered while structural assessments continue; the bar will remain closed until officials determine whether that building is safe. Investigations and engineering reviews already exist on file in at least one jurisdiction—the Barbourville RFP cites an engineering study in Appendix C following the June 2021 partial collapse—but local officials have not released a consolidated timeline tying those studies to the current demolition at 215 S 3rd.

For now, Spirtas crews have advanced removal of the unstable structure while Warrick County and city officials manage street closures, safety sweeps of adjacent apartments and businesses, and damage assessments for the properties that were destroyed or damaged during the collapse. Authorities say they will keep the area secured until structural engineers and building inspectors clear the neighboring buildings and abatement plans are in place.