The blue Maple Leaf logo atop the Maple Leaf Gardens’ domed roof disappeared Wednesday, symbolically marking the end of an era.

The logo was permanently removed as part of a reconstruction project that will see former hockey shrine re-open next week as a supermarket, clothing store and liquor outlet.

It’s been more than a decade since the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League played in the grand old dame on Carlton St.

But the 80-year-old marvel of architecture and engineering still looms large in the national psyche.

PHOTOS: Maple Leaf going, going, gone…

Next Wednesday, the Gardens will reopen to the public for the first time since 1999 as a combination supermarket and eventual university athletic facility.

As a compromise, critics say, the plan isn’t as bad as some of the alternatives, which could have seen the Gardens torn down or turned into condos.

Still, fans mourned the passing of an era they associate with the Leafs’ heydays.

The Gardens’ main claim to fame is its 68-year history as the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team, which takes at its logo the blue maple leaf.

The building also played host to other iconic events, from Beatles and Elvis concerts to Pierre Trudeau-era political rallies. And it was owned for many years by the late Harold Ballard, one of the city’s most colourful characters.

On Wednesday, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. will open a flagship store in the Gardens, along with a Joe Fresh clothing store and an LCBO outlet.

Next spring, co-owner Ryerson University will unveil new student athletic facilities on the second and third floor.

As part of the ongoing restoration work to the building’s exterior, construction workers were stretching a new membrane across the Gardens’ aging dome this week.

In the process, the blue maple leaf disappeared and will not be replaced, a Loblaw spokesperson confirmed.

Under their agreement with the city of Toronto’s heritage preservation services, Loblaw and Ryerson are committed to replicating the exterior of the building to its original stature.

Built in 1931, the Gardens is considered an engineering and architectural marvel, partly because the domed roof is supported without sight-obstructing pillars and the buff-coloured brick combines art deco with the moderne style.

But the leaf logo on the domed roof was added in the ‘80s. Thus, the new owners are under no obligation to replace it.

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Not all of the Gardens’ original purpose will disappear under the new owners.

As part of the renovations, Ryerson is adding an NHL-size rink on a new third floor, directly beneath the iconic dome.

The rink may no longer host the Leafs, who moved to the new Air Canada Centre in 1999, but spectators will still be able to capture some of that original feeling under the dome. Even without the blue Maple Leaf logo.