Demolition starts on fire damaged Kirkwood Block building

Demolition underway at Kirkwood Block Demolition is underway at the Kirkwood Block nearly four months after a massive fire.

It’s been nearly four months since the historic Kirkwood Block caught fire and was left in ruins, but it is now starting to be taken down.

The 110-year-old building, located at Portage Avenue and Langside Street, was deemed a complete loss after the fire.

On Saturday crews started taking it down.

The company in charge of the demolition told CTV News the entire project will take a couple of weeks to finish.

Business residents inside the building previously told CTV News that seeing the building burn down was heartbreaking. One family had been operating there since 1998.

When first built, the building was owned by an investment company and later became a pharmacy owned by R.J. Kirkwood, who the building is now named after.

It later became a popular night spot from the mid 1960s to the 1980s.

The city said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

- With files from CTV’s Danton Unger and Josh Crabb