Swamplot Archives by Tag: Implosions

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Comment of the Day: The Savoy Hotel Implosion You Missed

October 7, 2009 – 5:15 pm
   

“I was across the street watching the tear down on and off for the 3rd day. They had a little trouble with the elevator shaft and the chimneys. Apparently the building was built pretty solid…2 foot thick brick walls. Yesterday they etched part of the bricks in the back and about half the building came down all at once by itself, rattling the ground and putting up a huge dust cloud. Part of the fire escape fell on the parking garage next door though.” [K. Brink, commenting on Emergency Demo: The Savoy Hotel’s Final Weekend Stay Downtown]

5:15 pm | 12 Comments | Read more about Comments, Demolitions, Neighborhoods: Downtown, Quicklink
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Friday, March 13, 2009

This Time with Fair Warning: Galleria Bank Collapse

March 13, 2009 – 11:45 am

This weekend’s Galleria-area bank implosion won’t be televised nationally, but you should be able to watch it happen live if you wake up early enough on Sunday. Preparations for the dynamite-fueled takedown of the Compass Bank building at 2200 Post Oak are just about complete.

A notice sent out last month to area businesses by Cherry Demolition says the implosion is scheduled for approximately 7:45 am on March 15th — which happens to be the 2,053rd anniversary, give or take a calendar adjustment, of the Julius Caesar demo. A few details:

Adjacent streets will be closed at approximately 6:00 am and re-open at 9:15 am. Streets to be closed are Guilford and Post Oak Boulevard between Westheimer and Ambassador Way.

So where’s the best vantage point for viewing this cathartic form of timely public theater gonna be?

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11:45 am | 5 Comments | Read more about Demolitions, Neighborhoods: Galleria, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment
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Thursday, November 15, 2007

CSI YouTube: The Sliding Door, the Elusive Shadow, the Last-Minute Runner, and Other Clues from the Crowne Plaza Demo

November 15, 2007 – 12:42 pm

Sliding Door Closeup from Crowne Plaza Hotel Demolition, Texas Medical Center, Houston

So professional and amateur detectives have huddled over the Crowne Plaza demolition videos and what have they come up with? Here are the rumors . . . er, clues!

First, mysterious Flickr member txrice123 writes:

the police are investigating a report that there may have been someone inside the structure on the fifth floor in the middle. a video taken from the face of your side (from St. Luke’s) apparently shows this person run to the edge, then run back. if you have any shots from before, you may like to look closely and send them to hpd.

The photo txrice123 is commenting on was taken from the west side of the building, and St. Luke’s is to the north, so the comment is a little confusing, no? And, uh . . . which fifth floor? The hotel had a podium.

Next, KPRC-TV keeps talking about a “shadow,” but isn’t shedding any light on the subject:

The home video showed a shadow inside the building moments before it was destroyed on Sunday.

Who knows what lurked in there?

And of course there’s the mysterious sliding door, shown enlarged above from the video in Swamplot’s earlier post. ABC13 hypes this part of the video, but neglects to point out that several gust-inducing dynamite blasts have taken place and the building has already started to rumble by the time the door starts “sliding.” Hey, isn’t a fire door supposed to close in a case like this?

After the jump, the door slides shut!

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12:42 pm | Read more about Attractions, Crime, Demolitions, Neighborhoods: Texas Medical Center
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Remaking Blow-Up, or Was Everybody Out When the Crowne Went Down?

November 15, 2007 – 12:05 am

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

Watch this video very closely. Do you see someone entering the building before the demolition begins? Maybe on the left side of the screen?

No? Well, keep looking. How about enlarging the video — or breaking it down frame by frame — so you can examine it more carefully?

Apparently someone who shot a video of the same event from the same angle saw something in it so disturbing that he brought the footage to the attention of the Houston Police Department. And officers found the evidence credible enough that they spent the greater part of Wednesday searching through rubble to see if maybe someone got into the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Texas Medical Center shortly before it was imploded Sunday morning.

KHOU-TV reports that police are focusing their search on the Fannin side of the building, which would be the street on the left. The station also says that the video used as evidence was in fact taken from the St. Luke’s Medical Tower — the same vantage point as the YouTube video above.

So is the video above the same one the police are studying?

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12:05 am | Read more about Attractions, Crime, Demolitions, Hazards, Hotels, Neighborhoods: Texas Medical Center
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Why It Might Be a While Before Houston Implodes Another Building

November 14, 2007 – 4:24 pm

Here’s an awful thought: Was someone inside the Crowne Plaza Hotel when it was imploded Sunday morning? Channel 11 News is reporting that police received a tip earlier today “about a possible death on the site during the implosion.”

According to the tip, there may be video showing the person inside the building when it went down. It was unclear who had the video.

Police have yet to determine if the tip is legitimate.

4:24 pm | Read more about Demolitions, Hotels, Neighborhoods: Texas Medical Center
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