The Implosion Was Awesome... Albeit Fast

Okay, so this morning we got up at the very crack of dawn, had our coffees, wiped the sleepy from our eyes, made Bloody Marys, and headed downtown for the implosion, which was set to happen between 7:45 AM and 8:00 AM. We left home at approximately 7:15 AM and were parked & walking to the viewing area by 7:25 AM. I have never witnessed so many people up, out, and downtown on a Saturday morning. Apparently, our friends slept through their alarms because we never located them.


This picture shows the set-up for the implosion. It's on the very far end, on the left. Streets were, of course, blocked off for obvious reasons.










I was amused by this family that had obviously gone *all out* with their gas masks.


As it turned out, the hotel that was offering a Bloody Mary Viewing was strictly for the press. Go Figure. However, we also noticed that there was a team from the Discovery Channel there to film as well. Apparently, they have covered something like 27 implosions and this was the largest one yet. Here. In our little West Texas City. Who knew?




We had to wait for a while as more and more people began to appear. You could hear different conversations all around about people or firms that had once occupied the building. Then, the mayor made a very short but eloquent speech. We heard a siren marking the three minute warning, then the one minute warning.



One moment you saw it. One moment you saw it fall. And the next moment, it was nothing but dust.











Believe me, it all happened so fast that you would surely have missed it, had you blinked your eyes. When the first three demolition explosions went off, nothing happened at first and we were thinking "Oh NO!". Then, the rest of the explosions blew and within seconds, the building was just gone, in a cloud of dirt. It was truly amazing, really. It was also a bit melancholy watching the destruction of a piece of local history.








Walking back to the car I was forced to put my ski goggles on because everything that was floating around in the air was severely irritating my eyes. I already had my ski mask pulled up over my nose and mouth, but my glasses just weren't protecting me.





Within a matter of about 15 minutes, the air had totally cleared. It was almost like nothing had ever happened. That really amazed me. So, within a matter of moments, it was all over, which also held me in total fascination....




Now, I did take some video, but of course, I can't figure out how to upload it to blogspot or to youtube. I'm so intelligent that way. Because I feared that if I videoed the whole thing I wouldn't be able to post it, I chose to just take pics of the implosion. They aren't the greatest pictures I've ever taken, but they will do.

Building Implosion Scheduled This Weekend... We're Going!

I live in a small West Texas city of approximately 110,000 that is currently undergoing a makeover of the downtown area. The particular building that is to be imploded tomorrow is over 50 years old and has been empty for more than a decade.


Since Mr. Snooty nor I have ever witnessed a live implosion, we are going downtown tomorrow at the crack of dawn to watch it. We have been advised to wear warm clothing (a no brainer), goggles, and surgical masks. We had originally planned to watch from Mr. Snooty's office, but the building is going to be *blanketed* and closed to everyone. However, down the street from his office, the hotel downtown is opening their upper floor balcony for people to have Bloody Marys while watching, so that's our gameplan! Several other couples we know plan to join us, so I think it's going to be great fun.

Anyway, I plan to take my camera, so you will be able to see at least some of it. Also, since we will all undoubtedly look pretty crazy with our ski goggles and surgeon's masks on, I promise to get pictures of us as well. Hey, this is a big happening here in our town.

When I was young and in grade school here, my mother (The Brown Recluse) used to work in that building. Mr. Snooty even worked in the same building when we were dating. So, we do have a connection with it that goes way back. It has, however, been such an eyesore for the last 10 years or so, we are glad to see it finally going away.


This is our skyline, which will be short one tall building as of tomorrow.