(Elyria) - Police have arrested two 17-year-old boys in connection with the fire that started Wednesday night, gutting a huge, historic building on the north end of downtown Elyria.
Elyria Police say one of the boys was charged with aggravated arson, breaking and entering, and failure to report a crime. The other boy is charged with breaking and entering. Both are in the Lorain County Detention Home.
The building, which is said to date back to 1899, was most recently home of the Uncle Vic's and Mardi Gras nightclubs. The address is 11 Kerstetter Way, but the building filled an entire block, and abutted nearby railroad tracks.
Assistant Fire Chief Joe Pronesti told the Chronicle-Telegram the top three floors of the buidling were totally engulfed when they arrived about 8 p.m. Wednesday, and they had it under control by about 12:30 a.m. What's left of the building will be torn down.
The building has been vacant since Uncle Vic's lost its liquor license in 2012. It was sold in 2015 to a Grafton-based property developer.
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