A piece of mining history in Springhill, N.S. is crumbling and will soon face the wrecking ball.

The lamp cabin was a vital part of mining operations when coal was king in Springhill. Now its days are numbered.

The sight of a gaping hole in the wall of the cabin is upsetting to many residents of Springhill, who remember the history of the site.

"What a shame, it breaks my heart to see this," says Carl Porter

The cabin has been abandoned for decades, and earlier this month, part of the wall came tumbling down.

"I heard some bricks fall and then all of a sudden, she just caved in. Fell forward and I came over, I thought somebody was in there because the back door was open, so I went over and took a look and nobody was in there," says Porter, who lives nearby and witnessed the collapse.

During the heyday of the coal mines, the lamp cabin was the final stop for miners before heading underground.

The Springhill mining disaster of 1958 put an end to mining in the area, but the cabin remained in the Springhill Industrial Park for decades as a symbol of those times.

It was even designated as a heritage property, but now, city council is looking at demolition.

"We can't take any action because it is a heritage site, so we're working in partnership with the province so that we can figure out exactly what our next step is. It has to be demolished unfortunately due to safety reasons," says Maryanne Jackson, the councillor for District 12 in Cumberland County.

"Seeing what I'm seeing here, I’ll say it's going to be down in two weeks," says Gary Noiles.

There are still a few men left who remember checking in at the lamp cabin before going into the mine. The damage is something retired miner Ken Melanson never thought he would have to face.

"It's just.. you know, excuse me, but this is one time I'm going to shed a tear," said Melanson.

The site remains fenced off and some residents have already been asking if they could have an old brick as a memento.

"We're working on a plan right now where we can save as much of the building as possible, as much of the bricks and hopefully we can do some type of monument," says Jackson.

Jackson says the county hopes to have a demolition plan in place as soon as possible, before any other pieces can fall down and cause an injury.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh.