Iconic hotel reduced to rubble
Demolition work at the Hydro Grand Hotel wrapped up on Saturday afternoon, with the bulk of the Timaru building reduced to rubble.
There were cheers from the crowd gathered on the Bay Hill as the Hydro’s famous dome was destroyed just before 2pm on Saturday.
Contractors were on site in the early morning, preparing the 105-year-old building for demolition. The rubble began to fall about 8am.
Both roads are now open, and the rubble is expected to be cleared this week.
Piles of debris were built up inside the outside the ground floor walls on Bay Hill Rd and Sefton St East, which are still standing.
Owner Allan Booth said it had been ‘‘a good day’’. ‘‘It’s satisfying to get to this point.’’
During the demolition process Booth was surprised at how flimsy the building was, saying there was ‘‘really nothing’’ holding up the roof.
Paul Smith Earthmoving used diggers to demolish the building, and the company was careful to not push out the side of the building facing Sefton St East, Booth said.
Demolition went smoothly, but in the final stages pieces of rubble narrowly missed a traffic light behind the barrier.
The crew had done a great job, Booth said.
‘‘I’m pretty rapt actually.’’ Cracking sounds of the diggers tearing through wood and alu- minium could be heard as the building was hollowed out, and through the puffs of smoke at the back of the building the rooms could be seen, painted in washedout, pastel colours.
The first incursions were made onto the frontage of the building shortly before 10.30am,with the demolition company beginning with the side closest to Sea Breeze Motel.
Booth said there had been a lot of interest from the public.
Former barman Ken Arnold said ‘‘two or three dozen’’ people were there from about 7am in the morning, with crowds lining up in the morning by 8am waiting for the demolition to start.
Numbers grew throughout the day, and by about 10am hundreds of people were watching along Sefton St East and Bay Hill Rd, undeterred by the increasing number of cars and trucks driving through the area.
Booth said he had salvaged one of the signs, but nothing else from the building.
Certain items deemed to have heritage value were already taken out, as part of the resource consent conditions for demolition.
Booth had received a lot of messages of support, he said.
‘‘I think people will be pleasantly surprised to see the view [of Caroline Bay]. It’s such a stunning spot.’’
The demolition has been a boon for local cafes, with onlookers packing out businesses near the Bay Hill. The Grindhouse Cafe manager Linda Simpson said it had been a ‘‘crazy day’’, while Ballantynes Cafe worker Jasmine Ryder said they’d had a ‘‘really busy’’ morning.