The Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre in Elliot Lake is being torn down.
The insurance company and Elliot Lake council decided it was not repairable and have moved forward with demolishing the structure originally built in the 1950s.
A large portion of the roof collapsed on February 21st of last year and the building was closed.
All salvageable items including museum artifacts, records and tenants’ property were removed before the demolition began this week.
The insurers provided just under $4 million to the city to cover the costs of demolishing and rebuilding the structure.
Council has discussed building a new art centre at an estimated cost of between $8- to- $12-million dollars.
The city is in the process of seeking outside funding.
Demolishing the building is expected to take three to six weeks.
