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VIDEO – Coming down: Oil Rig demolished for new seniors residence

November 10, 2020

A piece of Petrolia’s history is being removed to make way for more senior’s apartment.

Doug Simpson of Albany Retirement Village has been taking apart the former Oil Rig Restaurant for months. Today, the heavy machinery moved in to start taking down the building.

The uniquely shaped building has been a fixture on Albany St. for decades. It began as the Dominion Sink Factory. The exact date it began production is not known. The building also housed the Petrolia Topic at one time.

It became a restaurant in the 1970s and remained a family favourite for decades.

One of the draws of the restaurant was the unique paintings inside which depicted the fathers of the oil industry.

Those paintings were removed last year and donated to Lambton County for preservation.

It’s not clear how long it will take before the new seniors apartment building will be built.

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