Historic armory structure comes down in New Richmond

• Walls come down

Demolition crews were quickly to bring down the old armory portion of the New Richmond Area Centre complex on Thursday afternoon.
• "Cool"

Pre-school kids enrolled in The Centre's programs were part of the crowd that watched the action Thursday afternoon.
• Witness to destruction

A small crowd was on hand to witness the demolition of the old armory section of The Centre's facility.

Talk about it

The walls of the old armory building in New Richmond are coming down.

In anticipation of a facility expansion and renovation project at the New Richmond Area Centre, demolition of the two-story portion of the old armory section of the complex began at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 29.

Crews with Derrick Construction were on hand to tear the brick walls down. A small crowd, including youngsters enrolled in the pre-school and pre-kindergarten programs at The Centre, was on hand for the event.

The armory was constructed in 1951 to house New Richmond's National Guard unit. The city built the structure following a referendum of voters. The National Guard purchased the structure from the city in 1959.

In more recent years, the armory was attached to the Friday Memorial Pool facility and became a community fitness complex. It eventually became The Centre, which has seen significant membership growth in the past couple years.

To meet the growing demand for space, The Centre is expanding and renovating existing space to add classrooms, studios and work-out areas. The project is slated to be completed by the fall.

With the renovation, the two-story part of the armory was deemed obsolete. The gymnasium portion of the structure, however, will continue to be used by The Centre.

For a complete store, see next week's New Richmond News.

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