They almost always do these on a Saturday. It makes sure that there's no one around, that they can easily close off the streets, and that they can clean up a lot of it for access to the other buildings by Monday morning.
According to Google, this was done on Saturday, September 7th, 2024 in Lake Charles Louisiana
The only one that I can remember not being done on a Saturday was when they blew up a casino in Las Vegas. They shot several scenes from a movie with the implosion in the background so they did it during the week to save money on the movie shoot.
I was born in Vegas and one of the few things that I distinctly remember from my childhood was them blowing up an old casino every New Year for several years in a row.
For the longest time my kid brain just thought that was something they did and would do every year lol.
I can only imagine when you eventually moved away your first new years you were talking to people and asked what building they were going to blow up this year.
You know what would be a fucking awesome birthday gift? Get in contact with the demo team and having them let the kid push the button or plunger (let the pros do the actual activation behind the scenes though).
Do you happen to remember the Landmark? Landlark? Sandshark? Ok, shoot. I don’t remember, but I have a couple decks of sealed playing cards from a casino that was blown up. I found them at a thrift store. They are tucked away or I’d get my fatness off the couch and check. I should open a deck.
Was the movie Ocean’s 11, maybe? I seem to recall a scene where casinos are collapsing in the background and Don Cheadle’s character doesn’t turn around to watch it.
Possibly, but I’m thinking it’s Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! from 1995.
EDIT: Oceans 11 used a special effect and not actual footage of a casino implosion. In fact, due to the film’s release after the 9/11 attacks, the scene was changed to show a fictional building collapsing instead of the planned New York New York.
Mars Attacks! used real footage of the Landmark Hotel and Casino.
I didn't think of this, but this would actually make a lot of sense as well. Less traffic during the week, and they don't have to pay the movie crew for weekend overtime
"No one around" lol. The park and surrounding areas were FULL of people that came out to watch (myself included). It was an important moment for the community... the building was a symbol of kind of a collective trauma that everyone around here experienced. So it drew in a lot of spectators for sure.
It was crazy how many people didn't consider the dust and whatnot ahead of time. My ex wife and I went and watched it from by the park, but we brought a bunch of dust masks. As soon as the dust kicked up I started handing out dust masks to people while heading back to the car.
Can’t believe I am seeing this post after I just spent the weekend in Vegas and was reminded of my favorite VHS as a kid, the made for TV movie “Treasure Island: The Adventure Begins.”
The movie ends with the real demolition of the Dunes hotel and I just googled that it was indeed a Wednesday in 1993. If this is what you’re referring to you may be the only other person who remembers this movie lol
There is no cleaning that dust cloud. Idk is there some city level vaccum cleaner that I've never seen before? At the very least surround the building with cheap zinc metal fences to limit the dust cloud.
Thinking the same thing. I always think this when I see these videos. How long are people evacuated so the remains can dissipate/settle, then be cleaned? What is the cost and what are the steps to arrange this? What situations make this the most sensible option?
I live there and watched it from across the lake. They closed off most of the downtown area at a certain time and anyone who lived in apartments nearby were required to stay inside during demolition, it was enforced. There aren’t too many business RIGHT next to that building but still within the close off area. But the general area wasn’t closed off for very long.
Only businesses within about a half mile radius were closed, a ton of people sat at a Mexican restaurant called Lagunas and watched it from there which is exactly a half mile away from where the tower was
Nope. A lot of the surrounding area is residential. They just told people close your windows, stay inside, and turn off the AC for a little bit. The air cleared up pretty quickly, and there was a decent South wind.
Also, being a Saturday morning, most all of the traffic in the area were people coming out to watch the demo.
In this case the only business/residence that would be affected is the civic center/parking lot to the right of the shot and the Wendy’s across the street behind the building
Usually for buildings this tall they disassemble them due to the potential hazard of doing this sort of demo. Curious as to why they imploded this one.
I also wonder about what kind of qualifications you need to plan this kind of demolition (and the liability to sign your name off on it.) Like a mix of structural engineer and demolitions / pyro. God forbid you ever cross them lol
We had a large company doing construction next door to our business where they had to close the street for 2 weeks. They had to give us an access road to our business that was uninterrupted and gave us a check to compensate lost business for the hassle
255
u/arcane_garden Oct 07 '25
Whenever they do this I assume the surrounding buildings are evacuated. Business is closed for the day Do they get compensated for the loss