Implosion Brings Historic Detroit Hotel Crumbling To Ground In Seconds [VIDEO+PHOTOS]
DETROIT (WWJ) - It took mere seconds to bring a piece of Detroit history to the ground.
The Park Avenue Hotel, built in the 1920s and abandoned since 2003, was imploded Saturday morning. It was brought down as part of a $650 million development project to create a 45-acre downtown sports and entertainment district, anchored by a new Detroit Red Wings arena.
The 13-story building was filled with more than 200 pounds of dynamite. In comparison, 2,700 pounds of dynamite were used to bring down the Hudson building.
The whole thing lasted about 15 seconds.
The historic Park Avenue Hotel is history. #Detroit pic.twitter.com/qukN0jja19
— HistoricDetroit.org (@HistoricDET) July 11, 2015
As promised... #ParkAvenueHotel pic.twitter.com/hAz3NTafNq
— Paul. Y (@pypypy) July 11, 2015
The demolition was designed so that the hotel fell slightly to the west, preserving surrounding buildings. Officials said imploding the building reduces demolition time from three months to one morning.
It will take weeks before all the debris from the implosion is cleared from the scene. Crews are expected to wash the windows of nearby homes and businesses.
The 20,000 seat arena is expected to open in September 2017.