Many parapet walls, which extend above the roof line, are made of wood, but the one that collapsed was constructed of cinder blocks, a choice that Beatty said could be a major reason for the accident.

Historic architecture made a clear distinction between the normal load-bearing wall up to the roof and the non-load bearing parapet wall on the terrace. In village homes if it was the simple mud ...

said the bricks tumbled from the parapet wall - a decorative element - at the northwest corner of the historic structure's roof. The debris hit East Sixth just after 4 p.m. Monday, startling ...