HAVERHILL — The landmark and dilapidated Woolworth building at the entrance to downtown is falling apart.
A chunk of the front facade plummeted onto the sidewalk Monday, causing city officials to rope off the area and Mayor James Fiorentini to order a top-to-bottom inspection to determine whether the building is safe, he said.
Thomas Shanahan, general foreman at the Public Works Department, said two other pieces of concrete appeared to be on the verge of dropping from the top of the structure and were removed.
The building, considered by many to be Haverhill's leading eyesore, has sat vacant at the corner of Merrimack and Main streets since F.W. Woolworth Co. closed it in the 1960s.
Fiorentini said the results of the city inspection won't be known for several days, but that a preliminary review revealed what appears to be a portion of the roof deteriorating and potentially open to intrusion.
"A portion of the roof looks like it could collapse," the mayor said. "We felt it was a danger to the public. Our inspectors are concerned about what they saw."
The building, which the city has tried to rehabilitate for years, was purchased from its longtime private owner about four years ago by the Greater Haverhill Foundation, an economic development corporation that works closely with the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce. Soon after they purchased the building, foundation and chamber officials announced their intention to find a buyer who would redevelop it as a commercial or residential property or perhaps even a hotel.
From time to time, bushes and small trees can been seen growing on the roof, the result of neglect.
Shortly after the foundation bought the building in December 2005, Sally Cerasuolo-O'Rorke, then-president of the chamber, suggested the Woolworth building could be preserved as a cultural center or demolished to make way for a riverfront park.
A high-rise condominium project was proposed by a group of New York developers at that time. Nothing came of it.
The Greater Haverhill Foundation bought the building for $1.4 million from its longtime owner, Richard Cretarolo, who inherited it in 1993 from his father-in-law, William Conte.
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