The town of Alameda said ‘Goodbye’ to its oldest building.
The Alameda Hotel demolition process took about a week and now it’s completely over. Mayor Perry Kinder explained that there was no other way to go due to the building’s poor condition.
“It was in a really rough shape, basically condemned, because the roof was collapsing,” Kinder said.
The hotel, built in 1909, was one of the main landmarks of Alameda and was a centre of the town. Through over a century, it has witnessed a number of owners, but it hadn’t been operated for the last few years. The historic building became a potential source of danger, and the council just couldn’t take a risk of somebody getting hurt.
Despite the obvious reasons for the hotel demolition the decision still caused hard feelings. Town Councillor Jennifer Cobham reflected on the situation.
“It’s sad. You don’t ever like to see a historic building knocked down, but it was lacking the maintenance that it should have had all these years. It was a great place and everything, but it was becoming a hazard. There were bricks falling off of the outside. It was very old... It was time,” Cobham concluded.
A lot of Alameda residents shared their feelings and memories about the hotel over the social network. Some also questioned the future of the property. According to Kinder, it is yet to be decided.
“We don’t have any future buildings or projects planned for the property, so it will be just based on potential businesses or whatever comes forward that may want to develop it,” Kinder said.
The building is gone, the land is levelled, and with no major business activity in town for now, it looks like the lot may remain open for quite a while.
