EDITORIAL – Shed no tears over demolition of the Northbridge Hotel

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

OLD BUILDINGS get a raw deal in Kamloops. There’s just no respect for them.

The list of heritage homes and major buildings that have gone under the wrecker’s ball in favour of residential and commercial towers, and parking lots, is lengthy.

But not every old building deserves to be saved, and no tears will be shed when we see the last of the Northbridge Hotel — originally known as The Village Hotel when it was built in the 1950s or ‘60s, and more recently known to many simply as The Duchess after the peeler bar that operated there.

Over the years, The Village gradually deteriorated, though its beer parlour did a roaring business for a long while. At the end of its life, its 51 rooms were used mainly as housing for the homeless population, and was often the source of criminal activity.

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Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops, former TNRD director and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.