On July 20, 2010, the historic Southern Inn restaurant located in Lexington, Virginia suffered severe damage as a result of an overnight fire. Schnitzhofer & Associates, LLC worked closely with Skip Ravenhorst to provide the necessary structural assessment of the damaged structure, in the interest of determining the structural adequacy of the front façade to support it’s own weight, without the lateral stability provided by the interior floor connections. Concern lay with the possibility of the front façade detaching from the building, creating a public hazard on the street surface below. Schnitzhofer & Associates, LLC, provided structural analysis of the damaged structure at the front façade and provided details and directions for the installation of a carefully designed steel bracket system, eliminating the potential for wall collapse.