Photo: Robert Redlich

You never know what you'll uncover when you peel away the exterior layers of a building.

Take the soon-to-be levelled Metro building in downtown Kelowna.

The building, at the corner of Water Street and Queensway is being prepared for demolition later this spring. It will become part of the new Westcorp Hotel.

Crews have been working at the site for a couple of weeks, collecting asbestos from the building.

The mural and underlying coat(s) of paint on the south side of the building, were also removed, revealing commercial signs on the brickwork for companies dating back more than 100 years.

The painted, faded signs are for Union Gasoline and Kelowna Grower's Exchange.

Kelowna Grower's Exchange was incorporated in 1913 in an attempt to market fruit co-operatively.

It followed Kelowna Farmer's Exchange and Kelowna Shippers Union. Those companies date back to the mid-1880s.

Calls to both the Kelowna Museum Society and Westcorp were not returned prior to publication.