Historic Athens building, home to Magnolias Bar, partly collapses after fatal crash
Murphy Wolford has run a business in a historic downtown Athens building since the late 1990s. On Wednesday morning, as he stood amid the rubble of a partly collapsed structure, he said he was hopeful Magnolias Bar would eventually reopen.
But on his mind, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via phone, was the person who died after a vehicle crashed into the building at the corner of East Broad and Jackson streets.
“Right now, we’re just thinking about this tragedy,” Wolford said.
The Athens-Clarke County Coroner’s Office confirmed the death but did not say how the person was involved in the incident or release their name. Police did not immediately provide more details about what led up to the early morning wreck that has closed downtown streets.
The Athens-Clarke fire department shared an image on social media of the damaged building and described it as “compromised.” The collision, which left a gaping hole in the building’s corner, was witnessed by an employee at a coffee shop across the street.
Elijah Fish told the AJC it was a slow morning at the Jittery Joe’s Coffee when he heard a loud rumble and saw dust fill the air around 7:30 a.m.
Fish described watching a vehicle smash into the building. About two hours later, he said the vehicle was still at the scene and an ambulance had just left the area.
“I just watched it through the window here,” Fish said via phone. “There was a lot of dust and debris everywhere.”
According to county property records, the building was constructed in 1900. Wolford said it was built earlier, in the 1880s.
In 1997, he opened the bar’s predecessor, Tasty World, and said he converted it to Magnolias in 2010. According to nonprofit organization Historic Athens, Tasty World was a two-story music venue that hosted bands including The Whigs, Modern Skirts and Kings of Leon.
From 1942 to 1996, the building served as a retail space for Athens Refrigeration, Historic Athens wrote in an online post.
Magnolias Bar typically opens at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
“It’s very cherished by the community, and we’re hoping to get back up and running in the long run,” Wolford said.
Broad Street is closed between College Avenue and Thomas Street, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. Traffic in the downtown Athens area is also moving slowly because of the street closure.
The building is also home to the Republic Salon. In a social media post, the salon said an “unexpected incident” involving its building has caused the business to close “until further notice.” They typically open at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.