Dive Brief:

• Officials in Racine, Wis., say it was high winds Sunday night that turned the facade of a downtown commercial building from a vertical wall to a horizontal array of bricks.
• The wall fell into the 3000 block of Washington Avenue, but no one was hurt.
• City officials said the building was constructed in 1920, and the wall was likely a victim of deteriorating mortar.

Dive Insight:

Racine, on the western shore of Lake Michigan, can receive intense winds. It apparently was a matter of time until strong winds or traffic vibration put enough pressure on the building for the wall to fall. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts as high as 38 mph Sunday night. The city last year ordered demolition of a building that inspectors said had similar problems with mortar breaking down.