WALLACE – The long-running saga to decide the fate of the 100-year-old Mallon House in Wallace has finally come to an end.

On Thursday, May 14, demolition crews began tearing down the small home at 3 Bank Street following a lengthy debate over whether or not it should be destroyed.

It was in mid-2016 that property owners Rick and Indy Behrendt pushed to level the building after acquiring the property from former Wallace mayor and neighbor, Archie Hulsizer.

The Behrendts made waves in Wallace after they submitted their application to the Wallace Planning and Zoning Commission in mid-2016 to demolish the home. What followed was an over 4-year-long argument between the Behrendts, city officials, and other members of the community.

The Behrendts argued over a series of P&Z meetings that the 3 Bank home was structurally compromised and could not be renovated for any reasonable amount of money. They backed up this point by bringing in construction experts that attested to the building’s poor condition.

“Archie deeded us the house, but he really wanted to see it demolished,” Indy Behrendt said in a previous interview. “I wish I could have got the house years ago to make it an art studio or something, but it has sat empty for nearly 20 years I believe and is in horrible shape.”

Among its many issues included no working utilities, the presence of black mold, a nonexistent foundation, a decaying interior, and a sliding hillside that threatened it from its rear.

P&Z board members David Sherman and Dave Copelan on the other hand pushed for the structure to be saved due to its age and presence in a city that is entirely listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“People love that house, when they are coming down from the Pulaski Trail they see that house and think, ‘what a cute little house, I could live in a little house like that,’ and we really don’t want to see it taken down,” Copeland said in a previous interview.

Many attempts were made by Copelan over the years to find a new use for home, which included attracting investors to renovate it and/or moving it to the Wallace Visitor Center to be used as an attraction. With the structure officially torn down, it appears that none of those plans ever came to fruition.

As the work crews did their job nearby on Thursday, Indy told the News-Press that her and her husband’s original plans for the property haven’t changed – replace the home with nice grass and plants.