A building with more than 100 years of history in Blaine was torn down last week after renovation work revealed serious structural deficiencies.

Only one wall remains of a 4,040-square-foot structure that once held a grocery store and then a tavern at 545 Peace Portal Drive. Legal trouble closed the bar in 2005, and the building has been vacant ever since.

Ken Imus, the property’s owner, poured about $18,000 into repair efforts, but to no avail. Renovation work that would have prepared the building for new tenants revealed rotted timbers and unstable soil under the foundation – problems too costly to fix.