The historic jellybean houses in Saint John are no more.

The colourful and historic houses were torn down early Saturday morning. By mid-afternoon, the three jellybean houses in the city's uptown were little more than a pile of rubble.

Saint John tour guide Lori Seymore was one of the many people who spent time watching it happen.

“This is a crime ... speaking architecturally, historically, for our tourism industry, for the citizens of Saint John,” Seymore said.

The houses were built in the 1860s and survived the Great Fire of 1877. The City of Saint John purchased the homes in 2008, with one being privately owned.

Michelle Carson-Roy lived in one of the houses for about three years.

“That was my kitchen, that was my little guy’s bedroom and they’re going to digging into my little guy’s bedroom here soon,” Carson-Roy said.

Carson-Roy is sad the building has come down and remembers the people it would attract.

“They'd always have the pink busses stop in the front so I never knew if I was going to be photo-bombing a tourist,” she said.

The Saint John non-profit housing group wants to use the property to build a mixed multi-unit apartment building. City Hall had argued the buildings were beyond repair.

Others disagreed.

“We've had three developers in the last week who have submitted proposals to take these one and fix them,” said local resident Brian Russell.

Some who tried to retrieve pieces of the building to salvage earlier in the day were told they'd be arrested if they did.

“I'm afraid our heritage is not being taken seriously in Saint John, and in Canada's oldest incorporated city,” said Lori Seymore

Seymour says if historically significant buildings like these can be torn down, she fears there will only be more demolitions in the future.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.