Many gathered on Main and Depot streets Tuesday morning and decided to stay awhile, others stopped by briefly and hung their heads a little as the community bid farewell to a downtown landmark.

Crews from Grant’s Excavating spent much of the morning and part of Tuesday afternoon razing the historic Sphar building at the corner of North Main and Depot streets.

The demolition comes after the city spent the better part of a decade attempting to save the structure, which was one of the oldest structures in downtown Winchester and one of the last structures standing on North Main Street with significant ties to the city’s rail history.

The building was purchased by its last owner in 1999 and fell into disrepair. The city bought the property in 2014 and secured thousands of dollars in grants to try to save the building.

Plans were to turn the structure into a sort of welcome center and a site for offices for the chamber of commerce, tourism and the industrial authority.

But the dream never seemed to fit the budget, and the building continued to fall into disrepair, even to the point many feared an accident was waiting to happen.

Some deemed the structure an eyesore while others seemed to find a sort of charm about it.

Regardless, the Sphar building was a significant part of our community’s past and played an important role in many peoples’ lives.

For some, it was a place of employment. For others, it was a source of income for their parents, supporting their families over the years. In recent years, it became the backdrop for the Winchester-Clark County Farmer’s Market. And who hasn’t had their photos taken in front of the iconic structure?

Those who waited and watched Tuesday shared some of the reasons why they will miss the Sphar building.

Others are happy to see it go and ready to see what takes its place.

We find it kind of difficult to say goodbye.

We know officials have to make tough decisions. This was one of them.

We hope what happened in the case of the Sphar building will be a cautionary tale in the future, and that our community will take a more proactive approach to preserving some of its history.

Editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board. The board is comprised of publisher Michael Caldwell and Bluegrass Newsmedia editors Whitney Leggett and Ben Kleppinger. To inquire about a meeting with the board, contact Caldwell at 759-0095.