Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends Northwest Louisiana History Hunters were camping near Texarkana with their family but got up at 3:45 a.m. to drive back to Shreveport in time to catch the historic building on Market St being torn down. “We love history that much!” said Mike Mangham.
They have recently written a story that appeared in The Times that looked at the history of the building. Besides Dripp Donuts, the building was been home to Dees Photos, and Western Auto and in the 1890s it was the Jules Dreyfuss Dry Goods and Clothing Store.
A few weeks ago, Janie Landy, interim director of Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation and the Downtown Development Authority, released a statement via an email to the media about the building, "the structural engineer inspected the building and issued a report that it was structurally unsound, was at risk of collapsing at any time without warning and recommended that it be demolished as soon as possible."
It was announced it would be done Sunday, May 5, and Mark and Mike wanted to make sure to document it. “Our excitement of getting there in time to catch the start of the demolition was quickly overshadowed by a sense of sadness, somewhat like losing a family member,” said Mark Mangham.
Three demolition trucks worked side by side to tear down the brick building with smoke exploding from the shell as the walls fell as it rained outside. “As it rained almost the entire time of the demolition process, we realized that a vital part of Shreveport’s history had been lost forever,” said Mark.
The twins did a series of live videos for their Facebook page. On one of them, a representative of the Logan Mansion Facebook page commented, “Those raindrops are actually tears coming from all of us who love our historic buildings in downtown”.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Say goodbye to a piece of Shreveport history as Dripp Donuts building is torn down
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