Photos: A&W demolition marks end of an Ellis Boulevard era

The flood-damaged A & W restaurant that in many ways was a symbol for the Time Check neighborhood post-flood was torn down Wednesday morning.

A crowd gathered at 7 a.m. Wednesday to watch crews with a backhoe begin crunching the building, at 1136 Ellis Blvd. NW.

The building will be reduced to rubble in a matter of hours. Only the A & W sign will be preserved and donated to the Carl and Mary Koehler History Center.

The A & W restaurant was a rallying point for people trying to save and rebuild the Time Check neighborhood after the city's 2008 flood. Neighbors petitioned the city to hold off on demolition while a developer tried to come up with a viable proposal to reuse the property. But those efforts never amounted to anything, forcing the city to demolish the site.