HALLOWELL — About 200 feet of sidewalk near Desi Kitchen at 103 Water St. was closed Thursday morning after a granite block fell four stories from the building’s facade.

A granite keystone has fallen from above the upper-right window on the east-facing façade of the building at 103 Water St. in downtown Hallowell, forcing the closure Thursday of about 200 feet of sidewalk. Police say no one was injured and the sidewalk is expected to reopen by Monday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The decorative keystone block of granite fell from its perch above a window on the building’s east-facing façade.

No one was injured, according to Chief Scott MacMaster of the Hallowell Police Department.

The granite block, which appears to have fallen more than 40 feet before smashing to the sidewalk and leaving marks on the bricks, landed near an empty storefront.

“What we suspect happened is from the temperatures on the brickwork heating up, expanding during the day and then cooling off at night,” MacMaster said. “It probably weakened the mortar that held it and it just kind of popped out.”

After speaking with the building owner, MacMaster said a mason is expected to be at the site in the next few days. MacMaster said the closed portion of the sidewalk should reopen for use by Monday.

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In the meantime, the sidewalk has been closed and barricades have been placed in nearby parking spaces, allowing residents to use the area as a temporary sidewalk.

As of noon Thursday, MacMaster said no other pieces of granite had fallen.

Last year, MacMaster said, a vacant antique building experienced a similar issue in which bricks and mortar fell to the ground.

A granite keystone has fallen from above this fourth-floor window on the east-facing façade of the building at 103 Water St. in downtown Hallowell, forcing the closure Thursday of about 200 feet of sidewalk. Police say no one was injured and the sidewalk is expected to reopen by Monday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“The city had to pull down some decorative cast iron railings that were up there,” he said of last year’s incident.

MacMaster said the Hallowell Printing Co. building at 145 Water St. has similar granite blocks above its windows. While those granite blocks appear to be intact, police said they had contacted the building’s owner to ask it be inspected to ensure a similar problem does not occur there.


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