This morning was the scheduled demolition of the old Prudential Insurance building in the Medical Center in Houston, TX. The demolition in Houston was scheduled for 7:52:00 AM. After some Google Map research and a recon drive over on Friday, I made my way to what I thought would be a perfect viewing position.
Unfortunately the fog was heavy and delayed the start of the show. The building is barely visible in the center of the below photos. HPD blocked the street where I planned to view the drop from, but did not force me out because I was just outside the restricted zone. My position was about 400 yards from the building.
Finally the skies began to clear and the firefighters gave us updates – 11:15 was the plan. At 11:13:20, without any warning sirens or fanfare, the first LOUD explosion rocked the crowd with no apparent effect except for a barely discernible trio of puffs of smoke. If you look closely you’ll see them on the right side of the long slots cut in the face of the building between floors. The following sequence took about 15 seconds until the building melted to the ground.
The subsequent dust plume persisted for some time afterwards, but the actual demolition was over in seconds. Despite the long delay, it was worth the wait. I highly recommend to anyone to get out and see something like this in person. It is far better than on TV and these photos.
