INNISFAIL – The town’s grand Globe Coliseum in the historic block of downtown Innisfail was pummelled to the ground last night (Nov. 8) as a score of onlookers watched in sadness as 115 years of memories vanished before their eyes.
“I’m here to watch the demolition of an old building, the history. It bothers me because it is another building of our history,” said Esther Fendelet, a longtime Innisfail resident who came to watch the demolition with her neighbour’s children. “It was built the same year as my dad was born.”
After weeks of speculation for the date of the once proud 115-year-old building’s demise near the southwest intersection of 50th Street and 50th Avenue, the time of about 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 was finally set.
However, workers with W4 Contracting, a demolition company out of Spruce Grove, were forced to extend the time again.
They had to wait until 5 p.m. for a secondary crew to arrive. The first demolition crew also had to keep their two massive excavators in check for the job’s air quality control system to complete a mandatory four-hour preparation period before demolition could begin.
“Anything from 1990 has to be tested for asbestos,” said Jesse Henderson, co-owner of W4 Contracting, the Spruce Grove-based company hired for the demolition. “Everything has to be done to Occupational, Health and Safety regulations. We basically follow whatever guidelines are given to us.
“You can’t tear a building down without having it tested.”
And once his secondary crew arrived, and with daylight falling fast, the team of about 10 total demolition workers went to work quickly but carefully to put up fencing at the front of the two-story Globe Coliseum, a measure that would cut eastbound traffic on Main Street through the historic block to one lane.
Henderson later went inside the building for one last check to ensure no one was left inside; another measure made necessary as the building has been abandoned since the devastating fire roared through it last August.
At 7:07 p.m. it was finally time to get the job done. The two excavators were turned on.
WATCH HERE: EXCAVATORS START DEMOLITION OF GLOBE COLISEUM'S ANNEX
VIDEO BY JOHNNIE BACHUSKY/MVP STAFF
Their engines roared as they were moved to the back of the building onto the neighbouring vacant lot that was once the site of the historic Berscht building, which was also destroyed by fire in 2009.
Both excavator operators were masked and dressed in white hazmat suits, a precaution against asbestos that would be released into the air from the demolition battering. Their machine’s windows were wiped clean for the necessary carnage about to come.
The building’s rear annex was the first to be pummelled to the ground. The sound of sheer destruction from the excavators’ huge jaws ripping through wood and metal filled the early evening air. Across the street a small gathering of onlookers watched.
While a few children played behind security fences, many onlookers expressed sadness that an important piece of Innisfail history was about to be lost forever.
The demolition operation continued for several hours, with the back of the Globe Coliseum targeted first following the levelling of the annex.
WATCH HERE: DEMOLITION OF THE BACK OF THE GLOBE COLISEUM
VIDEO BY JOHNNIE BACHUSKY/MVP STAFF
When morning came there was only rubble visible at the site. Crews arrived early to begin the hauling of asbestos-tainted debris to a special toxic waste facility near Ryley, Alta.
The demolition of the Globe Coliseum at the southwest side of Bankers Corner was made necessary following a devastating early morning fire Aug. 2; a blaze that destroyed four residential suites on the second floor, leaving several citizens homeless.
There were no injuries to any resident and all were safely housed with either friends or family members.
The ground level floor, which was the home to a new vape business and Inspiration Ink Tattoos, sustained heavy smoke and water damage. There was also damage to The Gift Loft store in the historical building next door.
Although the official cause of the blaze has not been released, it's believed the fire was started by a fallen power wire.
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