A commercial cable station in Hazel Hill, N.S., that was once used to relay telegraph messages across the Atlantic Ocean will soon have a date with the wrecking ball.
The station was built in 1888 and closed in 1962, after being used for more than 70 years. A local group tried to find a way to save the structure, but was unsuccessful.
“Engineers are saying that the building has to come down and the committee just doesn't have the wherewithal to do that,” says Barry Carroll, CAO of the Guysborough Municipality.
The Guysborough Municipality is taking ownership of the cable building. It plans on hiring a firm that has experience with materials like lead paint and asbestos.
It is expected to cost about $100,000 to demolish the building.
“We didn't budget for it, obviously, but it's gone past that now. We believe it's in an emergency state,” says Carroll. “There’s pieces falling off the building and we don't want to see the building come down and fall out onto the road.”
When tourist Bill O’Brien heard about the decision, he stopped to take pictures.
“There's something about it. As you get older, you start to see a lot more value in things that have passed their prime, and buildings are one of them,” says O’Brien.
Doug Rattray's father and grandfather both worked in the cable building.
“It would be better if they could preserve it, but it's too far gone now to restore it,” says Rattray.
Carroll says the municipality hopes to start the demolition work within the next couple of weeks. It’s going to leave the foundation standing in hopes that it might be used for an interpretive centre in the future.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh
