Former Tarentum Opera House partially collapses, "Now it's ruined."

After standing for more than a century, a piece of Tarentum's history is starting to crumble right in the middle of town. The former Tarentum Opera House partially collapsed Wednesday evening. 

The damage can be seen from the outside of the building, where there's a large hole near the top of the building. The building remains taped off to the public on Corbet St. and East 4th Avenue.

 "Wow, that's a hole. I don't know how they're going to fix this," said Michelle Ohls, a Tarentum resident.

That hole is hidden behind the building in between two structures; luckily, no debris had fallen into the roadway. On the front, a window was busted out, leaving glass scattered on the sidewalk and the road.

"It's one of the oldest, most beautiful buildings in our town, and for this to happen- to this- it was devastating," said Cindy Homburg, Tarentum historian.

For Tarentum historian Cindy Homburg, seeing the hole and broken windows was heartbreaking, as she appreciates the history it represents in Tarentum.

"I was just sick. It's one of our landmarks; now it's ruined," said Homburg.

The building has had many past lives. It was an opera house, furniture store, skating rink, shoe store, and it was most recently a Rite Aid. But the building has been empty for a few years, and Homburg says it's had minimal upkeep. 

Borough officials say the property owner has a limited time to stabilize the structure while the borough will continue to monitor the site. 

There has been no decision made about what comes next. It's believed recent weather and harsh rain may have played a role in the collapse, along with its age and a lack of maintenance.

"When it was Rite Aid, the roof was bad then because you could see the water running down the wall on the 5th Avenue side; it was a mess," said Homburg.

The borough says they don't believe the structure of the building is a problem, but the brick façade is concerning, as there is a threat of it falling.