ZANESVILLE – A historical building in downtown Zanesville was destroyed by fire on Thursday night.
Around 11 pm on Thursday fire crews were called out to the scene of the Masonic Temple building on North Fourth Street.
Zanesville Fire along with about a dozen other fire crews that were called in for mutual aid battled the blaze for hours.
Next door to the historical building sits Muskingum County Jail where they were forced to move inmates to another location during the fire.
“Thank you to the zanesville fire department for there quick response to the temple today. This is sad day for us here in the temple as well as our community. The over whelming response we have received so far is completely heartwarming. Please keep the 60 artists and businesses in your thought as we navigate through our next steps,” said the Masonic Tempe in Zanesville.
This morning most of the downtown is still without power until the fire department gives the ok to turn the power back on to area businesses.
The temple was home to several studios, a couple of businesses including an art studio, meeting rooms, and a few apartments.
The building is considered a total loss, firefighters have reported that the structure is unsafe at this time.
