Crews have started demolishing the historic Avon theater in South Bend.
About half of the theater was knocked down Monday afternoon.
The theater dates back to the 1920s.
This will make way for a library expansion project.
The removal is expected to take about a month.
Preservationists fought to block the demolition saying the theater could be rehabilitated.
But the city council voted in October against designating the theater as a historical landmark.
