Historic Bathurst bank building demolished

The former Bank of Montreal building in Bathurst was destroyed on Thursday morning after nearly a century in the heart of the northern city's downtown.

The old bank building was built in 1919 and was one of the oldest structures in the downtown core. The old bank building was damaged in the Nov. 28 fire that destroyed much of the streetscape on King Street.

Liberal MLA Brian Kenny had been trying to save the building from the wrecking ball.

"I've always been a proponent to preserve our history, especially in the downtown core," he said.

"Older buildings give a flavour of your downtown core. But we have to turn the page on this one now."

Kenny had been a part of a committee, who wanted to see the building saved. But the city manager said the site could be dangerous and the building had to come down.

Most recently, the old bank housed a Greco Pizza shop, but it had been vacant for several years.

The insurance on the building expired weeks before the fire.

Kenny said he's hoping all of the attention that has been paid to the building since the firewill stimulate interest among developerskeen on moving into the open lot.

"There is going to be a huge void in the downtown core of Bathurst," he said on Thursday.

"What we have to do is move forward and try and promote the downtown core and try and promote it and seek developers."