'A sad day for downtown Springfield': Building damaged by fire will come down

City of Springfield officials said late Wednesday that a downtown building in the 400 block of East Adams Street heavily damaged by fire will be demolished Thursday.

The building, split on the first floor but open on the upper floors, housed Cat's Pyjamas Cat Cafe and Electric Quill Tattoo. Cat's Pyjama's opened in March, while Electric Quill just moved into its downtown location in May.

The building is owned by Chris Nickell and Jonathan Combs, whose bookstore, The Elf Shelf Books & Music, was moving onto the second floor.

More: Fire destroys interior of building in downtown Springfield

The first call on the fire went out about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Office of Public Works Director Dave Fuchs said the front of the building was so unstable that it was taken down Wednesday night.

Springfield Fire and Police were maintaining a presence around the area all night.

Also destroyed in the fire was the "Pillsburied" exhibit, which included artifacts such as paper documents and signs, and pieces of art harvested from the Pillsbury Mills buildings by its current owner, Moving Pillsbury Forward.

Cafe Moxo, the building directly to the west, announced that it was "closed indefinitely" because of the fire.

Fuchs said Public Works crews were in both buildings bookending the 413 building and neither "merited demolition. I'm not saying there wasn't some damage, but that will develop over the next couple of days.

"Our primary concern is taking this building down. The floors had all collapsed, and there were just bricks on the front of the building that were unstable."

One firefighter was hurt but was released later Wednesday after being treated, confirmed Fire Chief Ed Canny.

"A very sad day for downtown Springfield," acknowledged Mayor Misty Buscher, who spent most of the day with the firefighter. "But we'll recover."

Nine cats that were inside Cat's Pyjamas were all accounted for and taken initially to Buzz Bomb Brewing Co., but then another downtown location.

Out of the nine who were inside, there are still four cats up for adoption who need homes following the fire. Cats not adopted will be fostered by the Animal Protection League, according to a Facebook post from the cafe Thursday afternoon. The post included a link to a donation portal as well to help cover lost costs and support the newly hired staff.

Josh Flanders, one of the owners of Buzz Bomb, said bar personnel tried to help everyone on the street, commonly referred to as "the Adams Family," throughout the day.

"Adams Family will rally to help our fellow businesses," Flanders assured.

Buzz Bomb, Bloom Wine Bar and Florals, 2 S. Old State Capitol Plaza, and Ad Astra Wine & Tapas Bar, 308 E. Adams St., are part of a Saturday bar crawl from 2 to 6 p.m. Flanders said there will be donation baskets at each location to help the businesses that have been hurt.

"My heart is with everyone that is affected by this," Flanders said.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; [email protected]; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Downtown Springfield building will be demolished following fire