Hudson’s Hamburgers Could Reopen Today Building Inspector To Examine Walls Of Condemned Theater Next Door

Businesses next to the condemned Wilma Theater will have the chance to reopen as soon as today when city building inspectors give approval.

Another round of inspections on the structure will take place this morning, according to Bob Rudio, acting chief building inspector. The orders preventing Hudson’s Hamburgers and The Card Tramp from doing business will be lifted if the theater walls are sound.

Heavy snow collapsed the historic theater’s roof Dec. 31. Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp., which has owned the building on Second Street and Sherman Avenue for about eight years, continues to look for contractors to bid on the demolition, said Tony Ebersole, director of investor relations for Coeur.

Once a contractor is in place, it will take three weeks to completely tear down the building. Coeur’s plans at the moment are simply to turn the Wilma site into a vacant lot and then decide whether to develop or sell it.

Coeur for years has had plans for a large office building on the site. But the company hasn’t been especially profitable this decade, leaving little money to bring the plans to life.

Rudio said he heard that Hudson’s, the 90-year-old burger haven, could reopen Friday.

Once the Wilma building is stabilized, traffic will return to normal on Second Street. One lane has been closed since the building’s roof collapsed.

Despite having much of the roof cave in, the theater walls look to be strong, Rudio said. Older buildings like the Wilma were designed to keep walls intact even if the roof beams were to collapse from snow or fire, he said, and it appears the Wilma’s exterior walls had little damage, he said.

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