An online petition has been launched to save a group of historic Saint John homes from the wrecking ball.
The so-called Jelly Bean houses got their name from their brightly-coloured façade, but the iconic buildings have fallen into disrepair over the years.
The fate of the homes, which survived the Great Fire of 1877, has been debated for almost a decade.
The city recently gave a non-profit housing group the green light to demolish the buildings. The goal is to replace them with a new housing development, with demolition slated for spring.
However, heritage advocates like Brian Russell are still fighting to save the buildings.
“These are 1860s so they’re from before the fire, so we think they’re very significant,” says Russell.
“I work in St. John’s, Newfoundland quite a bit and they have jellybean houses as well, but as far as I’m concerned, they can’t hold a candle to these for the beautiful architecture and the trim around the windows and doors.”
An online petition asking the city to save the Jelly Bean houses had earned 470 signatures as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
According to the website, the petition will be delivered to the City of Saint John and Saint John Non-Profit Housing once it has 500 signatures.
