Slated for demolition, Golden Ball building holds more than a century of history in Saint John

Saint John’s Golden Ball building — a nearly century-old structure and former Irving Oil headquarters — is slated for demolition. Locals have mixed feelings, some regretting the loss of another recognizable building and others want to see it turned into something useful.

One local heritage expert is encouraging residents and visitors to appreciate the area's history that goes beyond the building.

"When we think of the Golden Ball, we think of the great big building and its adjacent parking lot. Well, that's an entire block long," Harold Wright said.

“I don't look at [the building] in isolation. I look at the fact that there was a hotel there, there was a tavern there, a dry goods store, a bakery, a grocery store there. That's the story that I want to get out to the public.”

In November, Irving Oil sold the building at the corner of Union and Sydney streets in the city's uptown to J.D. Irving Ltd. The two were once part of the same family group of companies but split about a decade and a half ago.The building sold for $1.5 million, according to the province’s property assessment site.

JDI confirmed in a statement that the building is planned for demolition but said there are no updates available about when this might happen or future plans for the site. The company didn’t provide interviews.

The space will be turned into a green space while future possibilities are evaluated, a November release from the company said.

The building might appear as a standard corporate office structure, particularly to someone unfamiliar with the city.

But it is one steeped in the city’s history, part of which includes what some consider the birth place of the Irving business empire.

Wright considers the story of the Golden Ball building as a story of a block divided into three periods.

K.C. Irving bought the land in 1931 and used it as a Ford dealership and garage. In 1951, he converted it into the headquarters for several Irving companies.

The corporate office space makes up the last period of the building's life, Wright said.

“The middle years for the building were 1931 to the mid-1950s when it was the Golden Ball garage,” Wright said.

At the time, the building housed several Irving businesses. This included Universal Sales Limited — a truck and trailer parts business — and even the building's current owner, JDI.