The W.I. Hann Building was demolished before a small crowd. The dilapidated structure was once one of the city’s largest businesses, where the Hann family made a successful living and built a solid reputation within the community.
Ernest Adey knows that reputation well. He worked for the Hanns for 29 years. While watching the building — where he started working in the meat market and later delivered furniture from — come down he said it brought back a lot of memories.
“It was a good place to work,” he said. “I have no complaints. Pay was small, but (owner Bill Hann) was good. If there was anything you asked for, if it was reasonable, you got it. I can only speak for myself, but that’s how I felt.”
Jim Fost recalled the days he would go to the store when he was seven or eight years old.
“It’s a lot of memories in there,” he said. “It’s so long that I can’t remember many of them now.
“We never had a car, so we used to walk down here all the time. It was really exciting, especially with the toy land there Christmas time. It was really something.”
Bill Hann took some time Monday to go down to the site to see the building come down and reminisce with the small crowd who assembled to watch it. The 92-year-old said there are a lot of memories that remain, despite the destruction.
“I realize it had to happen someday,” he said of the demolition of the building he and his brothers built in 1946.
Following the Second World War he said they began their business and immediately wanted to make a living and add something to the community.
“I always wanted a business, from the time I sold newspapers when I was going to school and after I worked for a short time before going overseas,” he said. “It’s the only thing I was any good at, buying and selling.”
He recalls the paper sign they placed outside before the opening: “This store will open soon. We have served our country for five years, now that we are home, may we serve you?”
However, Monday’s demolition ended a tumultuous period where the building had become on eyesore and a safety hazard.
The Hurley family next door watched the destruction of the structure from their back deck, a place they will feel much more comfortable these days knowing they are safe from the debris that had previously blown onto their property and caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Family members remarked the day didn’t come soon enough for them. Another neighbour, Bob Foster, said it had became unsettling living near the big building in recent years.
“I was worried all the time,” he said. “My driveway is just right there and I was always wondering if something would come down and hit my vehicle. They did the right thing, for this old building to come down.”
Foster said, even with all the good memories of the building from years gone by, it may have been luck that someone didn’t get hurt walking by the building in the recent past.Another area resident, Terrence Barry, also remembered the business in its heyday. He said it was a shame that it ended up in the condition it did.
“It is sad to see it was let down,” he said. “I think somebody should have taken it years ago and started another business there.”Barry said it is just another in a long list of the historic buildings that have been lost in the city over the years.
Meanwhile, current owners Keith and Joy Doyle have big plans for the lot, and area residents seem quite satisfied with the six-unit apartment building they hope to eventually erect in its place.
Joy said they planned to demolish the building when it was purchased approximately five years ago.
She said, like many business propositions, it takes time to develop and implement plans.
They hope to start working on the next phase of the apartment development over the winter, and hope they may be in position to start construction next year.
However, she realizes they are still very early in that process.
“The people have been fantastic since Keith began working in the area, getting it ready for the demolition,” she said. “They have been very patient. The city has been very helpful, too.
“...We all want the same thing at the end of the day.”
The W.I. Hann Building was demolished before a small crowd. The dilapidated structure was once one of the city’s largest businesses, where the Hann family made a successful living and built a solid reputation within the community.
Ernest Adey knows that reputation well. He worked for the Hanns for 29 years. While watching the building — where he started working in the meat market and later delivered furniture from — come down he said it brought back a lot of memories.
“It was a good place to work,” he said. “I have no complaints. Pay was small, but (owner Bill Hann) was good. If there was anything you asked for, if it was reasonable, you got it. I can only speak for myself, but that’s how I felt.”
Jim Fost recalled the days he would go to the store when he was seven or eight years old.
“It’s a lot of memories in there,” he said. “It’s so long that I can’t remember many of them now.
“We never had a car, so we used to walk down here all the time. It was really exciting, especially with the toy land there Christmas time. It was really something.”
Bill Hann took some time Monday to go down to the site to see the building come down and reminisce with the small crowd who assembled to watch it. The 92-year-old said there are a lot of memories that remain, despite the destruction.
“I realize it had to happen someday,” he said of the demolition of the building he and his brothers built in 1946.
Following the Second World War he said they began their business and immediately wanted to make a living and add something to the community.
“I always wanted a business, from the time I sold newspapers when I was going to school and after I worked for a short time before going overseas,” he said. “It’s the only thing I was any good at, buying and selling.”
He recalls the paper sign they placed outside before the opening: “This store will open soon. We have served our country for five years, now that we are home, may we serve you?”
However, Monday’s demolition ended a tumultuous period where the building had become on eyesore and a safety hazard.
The Hurley family next door watched the destruction of the structure from their back deck, a place they will feel much more comfortable these days knowing they are safe from the debris that had previously blown onto their property and caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Family members remarked the day didn’t come soon enough for them. Another neighbour, Bob Foster, said it had became unsettling living near the big building in recent years.
“I was worried all the time,” he said. “My driveway is just right there and I was always wondering if something would come down and hit my vehicle. They did the right thing, for this old building to come down.”
Foster said, even with all the good memories of the building from years gone by, it may have been luck that someone didn’t get hurt walking by the building in the recent past.Another area resident, Terrence Barry, also remembered the business in its heyday. He said it was a shame that it ended up in the condition it did.
“It is sad to see it was let down,” he said. “I think somebody should have taken it years ago and started another business there.”Barry said it is just another in a long list of the historic buildings that have been lost in the city over the years.
Meanwhile, current owners Keith and Joy Doyle have big plans for the lot, and area residents seem quite satisfied with the six-unit apartment building they hope to eventually erect in its place.
Joy said they planned to demolish the building when it was purchased approximately five years ago.
She said, like many business propositions, it takes time to develop and implement plans.
They hope to start working on the next phase of the apartment development over the winter, and hope they may be in position to start construction next year.
However, she realizes they are still very early in that process.
“The people have been fantastic since Keith began working in the area, getting it ready for the demolition,” she said. “They have been very patient. The city has been very helpful, too.
“...We all want the same thing at the end of the day.”
