Every few weeks, Lee Gibson comes by to check on his Dad's building. Last week he stopped by to do a little maintenance.
"I'd been here fixing windows, because the city ordered that we needed to fix the windows and do something about them," said Gibson.
During that visit, he realized the building was in danger.
"There's cracks in the floor, and it's very soft," said Gibson. "You can feel the boards start bending underneath you."
After years of water leaks from its aging roof, the building was simply rotting away; The perfect conditions for a collapse.
"I had an idea this was going to happen, but it was just a matter of time and when it was going to happen," Gibson said.
Inspectors believe the back wall of this old building came down Monday night. It wasn't discovered by city officials until Wednesday.
"I wasn't expecting what I saw when I got here," said Lynchburg building official, Doug Saunders. He believes the damage is so extensive, the building will likely have to come down.
"We're concerned with the safety of the public," said Saunders. "We've got a great neighborhood over here. We don't want anyone to get hurt from falling debris."
When the building comes down, a part of Lynchburg's past will disappear too. 612 Dunbar Drive is one of only two structures left standing in the whole city that once served as a civil war hospital.
From storing tobacco as a warehouse, to storing bodies as a morgue, this building has seen a lot of uses in the last 165 years.
The Gibson family will try to save what's left.
"We're trying to keep the building up as long as we can, so we can scrap as much brick, wood, and everything out of it that we can," said Gibson.
