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At 12:30 P.M. on Tuesday March 9, 1999 the walls of Centracare
came "tumblin' down". The demolition of what was formally known as
the Provincial Lunatic Asylum was supposed to start on Monday March 8, 1999 but
a major snowstorm on the weekend canceled those plans.
Early in the afternoon, the demolition started with the upper parts of the buildings in the northeast courtyard coming down. A crane with a wreaking ball began to knock down parts of the building, with a second machine picking up wooden debris that will later be recycled.
In the latter part of 1998 the West Saint John hospital site was purchased by J.D. Irving Ltd. from the provincial government for $1-million.
Before the wrecking ball could begin the demolition, the outer
bricks had been stripped off this part of the complex, exposing a second layer
of bricks and mortar. "Windows are broken and the old structure looked
forlorn with part of an old deck lying on the property near Lancaster
Avenue".
"Over the course of the next few hours, the crane moved into the courtyard that sits above Reversing Falls as Loyalist Man stood guard below in the cold outside the Reversing Falls Restaurant. It's another bit of Saint John's history being pulled down after the General Hospital was imploded in December 1995".
The deal between the province and Irving was made months after Centracare's remaining patients were moved to South Bay in the spring of 1998. The old brick buildings stood empty since.
J.D. Irving Ltd. plans to hydroseed the land in
mid-May 1999, leaving no sign of a psychiatric hospital which was a local
landmark for so long.
Some of the Centracare rubble was pushed into the foundation holes as fills and the rest was towed away.
"Clean bricks will be used as fill at the company's Mill Cove site; the wood is going to a buyer on Manawagonish Road, and the steel and metal will be recycled by Irving-owned CFM Ltd. on Gifford Drive. Security guards will patrol the site during the 10-week demolition to keep curious onlookers away from danger".
«Our Photo Album has more images of the demolition...»
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