Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/6/2012 (3411 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
As factions in the city fought over how -- or whether -- to save the vacant Prince Edward Hotel, a number of groups got official tours of the building.
Vandals had had their way with portions of the inside, and engineers had drilled holes in support pillars, to conduct studies. Here are some images from those tours.
Above: Battery-powered flashlights were required inside the hotel, where the power had long been shut off. Then-alderman Rick Borotsik is at left. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: One of the damaged pillers. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: A tour group comes down a staircase in the hallway. One man is suprised by the photo's flash. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: The more recently-renovated Red Caboose portion of the structure still had its distinctive layout. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Damage and debris litter this room in the basement. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Evidence of extensive vandalism in the basement of the hotel. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: In its earliest days, the Prince Edward Hotel was heated by being hooked up to the city's central steam plant, so this furnace probably wasn't original. But it would still have had to have been replaced if the hotel had been renovated. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Just some of the patchwork electrical system running through the hotel. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Debris spills down a staircase. The wooden floor has buckled, as well. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: This counter, in the lobby, was a target of vandals. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Some of the light fixtures have been reduced to just bare bulbs, strung from the ceiling. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Upstairs, the main dining room looked to be in relatively good shape. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Sinks and mirrors were smashed throughout the bulding. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Some enterprising thief even pried out the original fireplace moulding. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Anything that once held glass was now filled with only shards. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Badly peeling paint and plaster. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: More evidence of frost damage hanging from the ceiling. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Another room that appeared relatively unscathed. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: One of the damaged support columns. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: More evidence of decay inside the hotel. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Glass doors inside the hotel, apparently smashed with a brick. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: The kitchen at the hotel, long out of use. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above:A look at the uncared-for lobby. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Then-aldermen Rick Borotsik and Marie Kotyk take a look around the hotel. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Then mayor Ken Burgess looks up inside the vacant building. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)
Above: Former Brandon mayor Steve Magnacca, who led a charge to save the Prince Edward Hotel, stands alone in the shadows of its decaying interior. (Dirk Aberson / Brandon Sun file)