WALL COMES TUMBLING DOWN: POLICE FORCED TO CLOSE ONE BLOCK OF BROADWAY

Two cars were buried in concrete blocks and three others dented when a 35-foot-high retaining wall collapsed across a Broadway parking lot Wednesday.

No one was injured when the wall adjoining Semo Videos, 501 Broadway, fell at about 11:30 a.m., a freak occurrence that caused police to divert traffic from a block of Broadway.

Kathy Thomason of Chaffee, Mo., said she was at the cash register of a store across the street when she heard what sounded like an explosion. She looked outside and saw her 1994 Chevrolet Caprice covered in rubble.

If the wall had fallen a few minutes later, she would have been in her car.

"I feel lucky," Thomason said.

A Cape Girardeau building inspector said some elements of the wall's construction were weak. Although half of the concrete block wall was still standing on its footing, metal bars used to fasten the retaining wall to an existing brick wall, which remained standing, apparently weren't fixed in place with epoxy or resin, said Tarryl Booker, Cape Girardeau's director of inspection services.

"Some of the rebars were put into the old building, but they were not done right," Booker said. "It's like they were just slid in like a Lego block."

He said it is possible that wind over time separated the wall from the old building.

Foeste Masonry Inc. had been responsible for building the wall, owner Kenny Foeste said. But he was uncertain about construction details and could only estimate, without referring to his records, that it was built within the past 10 years.

The three cars that received minor damage were driven away, said Steve Niswonger, Cape Girardeau fire marshal.

Judie Welker of Cape Girardeau was riding through the parking lot when the wall fell.

"I had concrete dust in my hair, in my eyes, in my mouth," said Welker, who had just completed a delivery for Meals on Wheels.

The accident broke out her rear taillight and scratched the paint, causing an estimated $2,700 in damages, she said.

Bob Cotner said his family has owned the building since the 1920s, but he couldn't recall exactly when or why the concrete block wall was built.

To prove to the city that the building is safe, a structural engineering report must be submitted by the building's owner, Booker said. It must be accompanied by architectural drawings demonstrating how future problems will be prevented.

Booker said it is unlikely that the city would have a record of the construction permit for the wall. Construction permit records are purged every five years, and only records for the past three years are part of a computer database.

"We've searched, but at this point we can't find a permit or plans," Booker said.

The top 6 feet of the building's corner closest to the street and the wall were jutting out after the wall fell. Before the 500 block of Broadway could be reopened to traffic, city officials told Cotner the protruding section would have to be removed.