Before the wrecking ball moves in, some people are already publicly mourning the Mayfair Hotel.
Ken and Helen Lippert visited the corner of King and Young streets in downtown Kitchener on Wednesday, and left flowers next to the fencing erected to protect the street below from the Mayfair’s potential collapse.
“We thought that someway, somehow, we can have some sort of memorial service,” said Ken Lippert, whose great-uncle built the structure.
“We’re hoping to have a much larger memorial or wake … but this is the start.”
Both Lipperts told CTV News that aside from the personal connection, they’re concerned about the impending loss of another heritage property in the downtown.
“There’s going to be nothing left,” Helen Lippert said.
The 110-year-old hotel was ordered to be demolished in late April.
Since then, a neighbouring property fronting King Street has also been ordered to come down.
The owner of the properties has been given until noon Friday to submit a demolition plan.
Work is progressing to that end, city officials said Wednesday.
