An iconic hotel in southeast Calgary is being demolished to make room for the LRT and will be reduced to rubble by the end of the week.

Demolition on the Shamrock Hotel at 1042 21 Avenue S.E. began on Sunday.

The building was a harness shop in 1914 and became a bar when prohibition ended in 1924.

The old hotel was heavily damaged in a fire in August 2012 and several people were trapped inside and rescued by firefighters at the scene.

The owners of the building were fined $30,000 for fire code violations that were discovered by investigators following the blaze.

The business closed in 2015 and was sold to the city to make way for the Green Line transit project.

"It is the end of an era for that building. I'll agree with that but I think it is a catapulting into the kind of future that we need to have in these neighbourhoods and that’s already emerging with an amazing amount of vibrancy," said Ward 9 councillor, Gian-Carlo Carra.

A number of other buildings along 11 Street S.E. will also be demolished to make way for the transit line including the old Lilydale chicken plant.

The Green Line is expected to be finished by 2024.