I can’t remember another year in my lifetime that has seen so many West Kootenay buildings torn down. Or maybe I’m just paying closer attention these days.

At the start of 2025, I posted a list called “11 endangered structures of West Kootenay/Boundary,” which subsequently grew to 16 structures (15 buildings and one bridge). At year’s end, eight of those structures are gone and two more will disappear imminently. One has been saved, although in a different way than originally intended. For the remaining five, the future remains iffy, but at least no excavators moved in on them this year.

Some losses were more painful than others, but with one exception, there wasn’t much of an outcry about them. (At least not locally. When pictures of some of these buildings being torn down appeared on Facebook, people from other communities were aghast. That’s an interesting disconnect.)

Demolitions were particularly frequent in Trail (four of them, including what was probably the city’s oldest or second-oldest building) and Castlegar (three buildings, with a fourth to commence soon). Others occurred in Creston and Fruitvale.

Many of these buildings would have been good candidates for adaptive re-use, but that seems to have only been considered in two cases, and how seriously I’m not sure. Canada’s History recently published a terrific story about the many virtues of heritage preservation.

At one point in late August, four different buildings were being demolished simultaneously.

These are the ones we lost or are about to.

CASTLEGAR

Pioneer Arena, 925 Columbia Avenue

Interestingly, this is the only building on the entire list whose demolition led to any major pushback. Part of that was due to the fact the City of Castlegar and RDCK did not have an immediate plan for another ice surface to replace it. (A referendum is expected in October 2026. Even if it passes, it will presumably be at least a year or two before the new rink is finished.)

But more than that, the city’s decision to knock the venerable rink down to make way for a combination of housing and medical offices revealed deep affection for the building, which was constructed over several years in the 1950s and ’60s. It closed in early March and was torn down in late August.

Eremenko Block, 310 Columbia Avenue/1224 3rd Street

By contrast, the impending demolition of the Eremenko Block doesn’t seem to have stirred any strong feelings. I was surprised to learn the building was designed by Bill Williams, one of the best-known architects of the Kootenays in the 1930s and ’40s. This department store would have been one of the most outstanding architectural works in Castlegar when it was built in 1947-48.

A contractor has been working on hazardous materials abatement for a few months, but at the end of 2025, the building is still standing. When the City of Castlegar purchased the property in 2021, the idea was to redevelop it as the new site of the Kootenay Gallery and for housing. But it wasn’t stated that the building would be torn down. I don’t know when or why that changed. The Kootenay Gallery has since acquired the former Woods night club across the street, but housing is still slated for the Eremenko site.

Zuckerberg Beauty Parlour, 1114 4th Street

It was months before I realized this fascinating little building had been demolished and that a new structure was going up on its site. Unlike the Pioneer Arena and Eremenko Block, its impending disappearance didn’t make the news, I guess because in this case the city wasn’t responsible for getting rid of it.

Alexander Zuckerberg of Zuckerberg Island fame built the structure around 1942 and his wife Alicia operated a beauty parlour there. It was later by turns an import store, an election headquarters, a thrift shop, fabric shop, chocolatier/sports card shop, ice cream stand, and equestrian supply. The building (seen below left in 2001) was gone as of May.

2709 Columbia Avenue

This house of unknown vintage was turned into a couple of commercial spaces by the 1970s. It was latterly a massage therapy clinic and dental hygiene clinic. It was demolished in November.

One positive that might come out of these losses: a community heritage register has been suggested for Castlegar, something the city has never had. While it is no cudgel against demolition, at least it is an expression of what places and things a community values. The Pioneer Arena certainly would have been on the list. I’m not sure about the others, although I would have argued for the inclusion of the Eremenko Block and Zuckerberg beauty parlour.

CRESTON

Grain elevator

In 2018, the Columbia Basin Trust bought Creston’s two iconic grain elevators. At the time it seemed like their future was assured. But while one has been fully restored, the other (seen below in foreground) was demolished this year “due to immediate safety concerns.” The building’s deconstruction was completed by March. The Trust said it would talk to the community about how to “give new life to the recovered pieces of the building, including valuable first-growth timbers and historic equipment.” The Trust says it is still in discussions with local government about that.

FRUITVALE

Beaver Valley Middle School, 275 West Columbia Gardens Road

This school operated from 1970-2003. It was sold in 2009, acquired by the Village of Fruitvale in 2018, and leased to the Lower Columbia Affordable Housing Society in 2020. It was considered for adaptive reuse, but the collapse of the gym roof in the winter of 2023 convinced the village to tear it down instead. Demolition work began in late August 2025. At year’s end, work is ongoing.

TRAIL

Hospital/Aldridge Hotel/C.S. Williams Clinic, 901 Helena Street

The oldest part of this complex was the city’s first hospital, built in 1896. It was later converted into a hotel, then reverted to its original purpose and used as an auxiliary hospital during the flu epidemic of 1918. In 1922, a consortium of doctors converted it into a clinic and nurses residence. In 1938, it became the C.S. Williams Clinic, and in 1949, a multi-storey addition was built on the east side. The City of Trail acquired the buildings sometime in the 2000s or 2010s, spelling their doom, although they didn’t get around to tearing them down until this year. Demolition began in August and the site is now vacant.

Trail Mercantile/Eaton's/Towne Square Mall/Liquidation World, 900 Spokane Street

Just down the block, this building, which dated to 1916, met a similar fate immediately afterward. The City of Trail acquired the property in 2024 and announced plans to redevelop the site, although for what exactly is not yet known. Demolition began in late October and was substantially complete not long after. The site has been cleared. Some materials were salvaged. The only remaining sign of the old building is brick veneer touching the Colander restaurant next door.

Glenmerry Elementary School, 3660 Carnation Drive

The old school, whose first rooms were built in 1956, was torn down in August and September to make way for a field and parking area for the new school, which opened in September where the old school’s field used to be.

Rotary Villa, 1955 7th Avenue

In July, one wing of this 23-unit seniors housing complex in Shavers Bench, which dated to 1958, was demolished to make way for a new three-storey 41-unit seniors housing complex, expected to be completed in 2027. At the end of 2025, two old wings were still standing and work was underway on the foundation of the new building.