Foreclosure and demolition
New owner James Louis Williams purchased the Cotton Exchange Building in 1985 and planned to tear it down to build a new 52-story tower in its place. But due to the savings and loan crisis that began in the late 1980s, Williams ended up in bankruptcy court, which in 1991 cut his debt on the structure from $15 million to $9.9 million. Meanwhile, the original lender on the building, First RepublicBank Corp., had failed in 1988, sending the loan to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. In 1991, demolition crews were hired to implode the structure. [2]
City inspectors determined that the Cotton Exchange's precast concrete panels, attached during a 1960s renovation, had a high asbestos content and should be removed before implosion. When these were removed, it was discovered that the building's original 1926 exterior was intact and efforts were initiated to save the building from implosion. Then-Mayor Steve Bartlett attempted to persuade Mr. Williams to seek a buyer who would convert the offices to apartments, but the Dallas City Council did not pass enhanced tax abatements for inner-city housing renovations until October 1993, too late to stop the process. On June 25, 1994, the building was destroyed by implosion.
Bank One Corporation was the sixth-largest bank in the United States. It traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONE. The company merged with JPMorgan Chase & Co. on July 1, 2004. The company had its headquarters in the Bank One Plaza in the Chicago Loop in Chicago, Illinois, now the headquarters of Chase's retail banking division.
New Haven Coliseum was a sports and entertainment arena located in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Construction began in 1968 and was completed in 1972. The Coliseum was officially closed on September 1, 2002, by Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., and demolished by implosion on January 20, 2007.
Texas Stadium was an American football stadium located in Irving, Texas, a suburb west of Dallas. Opened on October 24, 1971, it was known for its distinctive hole in the roof, the result of abandoned plans to construct a retractable roof.
The Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas runs along Main Street and is bounded by Elm Street one block north, Commerce St. one block south, N. Lamar St. to the west, and US 75/I-45 (I-345) elevated highway to the east. The district is the spine of downtown Dallas, and connects many of the adjoining business and entertainment districts. It does not include Dealey Plaza or the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial which are a few blocks west in the West End Historic District.
The Cedars is a district in south Dallas Texas (USA). It is adjacent to and south of downtown and Interstate 30, east of Austin Street, north of Corinth Street, and west of the 75 & 345 Overpasses just east of South Good Latimer Expy.
In the controlled demolition industry, building implosion is the strategic placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter of seconds, minimizing the physical damage to its immediate surroundings. Despite its terminology, building implosion also includes the controlled demolition of other structures, such as bridges, smokestacks, towers, and tunnels.
The Mercantile National Bank Building is a 31-story, 159.4 m (523 ft) skyscraper at 1800 Main Street in the Main Street district of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the former home of the Mercantile National Bank, which later became MCorp Bank. The design of the skyscraper features Moderne styling from the Art Deco era and was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager. The building has a series of setbacks that is crowned by an ornamental four-sided clock along with a decorative weather spire. The Merc was the main element of a four-building complex that eventually spanned a full city block.
Martin Tower was a 21-story, 101.2 m (332 ft) building at 1170 8th Avenue in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It was the tallest building in the city as well as the greater Lehigh Valley—8 ft (2.4 m) taller than the PPL Building in Allentown.
Whitacre Tower, also known as One AT&T Plaza, and formerly known as One Bell Plaza, is a 37-story high-rise in Downtown Dallas, built adjacent to the Akard Street Mall in 1984.
The Harwood Center is an American skyscraper at 1999 Bryan Street in Dallas, Texas. The building rises 483 feet. It contains 36 floors, and was completed in 1982. Harwood Center currently stands as the 21st-tallest building in the city. The architectural firm who designed the building was WZMH Architects, the firm who designed the CN Tower in Toronto.
The Praetorian Building, also known as Stone Place Tower, was a 15-story, 58 m (190 ft) high-rise constructed in 1909 at Main Street and Stone Street in the Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It was regarded the first skyscraper in Texas and the first skyscraper in the Southwestern United States. It was among the first skyscrapers built in the entire Western United States, following the 1885 Lumber Exchange Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota and other taller towers in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Omaha, and Kansas City.
Controlled Demolition, Inc. (CDI) is a controlled demolition firm headquartered in Phoenix, Maryland. Founded by Jack Loizeaux in 1947, Controlled Demolition claims to have imploded "more buildings, chimneys, towers, bridges, and other structures" than all of its other competitors combined.
First Baptist Dallas is a Southern Baptist megachurch located in Dallas, Texas. It was established in 1868 and, as of 2018, has a congregation of about 13,000. In 2017, weekly attendance for worship services was reported around 3,700 and online attendance was over 10,000 The church, considered influential among evangelical Christians in the United States, also owns and operates a school, several radio stations, and Dallas Life, a mission for the homeless on the southern edge of Downtown Dallas. The current pastor is Dr. Robert Jeffress.
The Statler Hotel & Residences is a hotel of mid-twentieth century design located at 1914 Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). It is located on the edge of the Farmers Market District and adjacent to Main Street Garden Park. The hotel opened in 1956 as The Statler Hilton Dallas and was praised as the first modern American hotel and was designed by William B. Tabler. Later renamed the Dallas Grand Hotel, it closed in 2001, then was restored and reopened in 2017.
The Mercantile Continental Building is located at 1810 Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). It is a contributing structure at the edge of the Government District and adjacent to Main Street Garden Park. The building was built and owned by Mercantile National Bank and connected to their complex by an underground walkway.
505 North Ervay, also known as the Reserve Loan Life Building, was a mid-rise skyscraper located in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. Originally an office building, today it was part of the First Baptist Church campus until the building was imploded on June 29, 2019.
Alpha was an unincorporated freedmen's town in Dallas County, Texas, United States. Founded soon after the American Civil War, the town peaked in the 1890s then dwindled in population throughout the 20th century before being delisted as a community in 1987. The area is now an incorporated part of the city of Dallas.
Plaza of the Americas is a major commercial complex in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). It is adjacent to DART's Pearl Station and connected to the Dallas Pedestrian Network. The complex features several amenities connected by an enclosed 120,000 sq ft (11,000 m2). skylighted atrium which rises 13 stories above the lowest level:
Demolition, or razing, is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for reuse purposes.
The Trautman Building, previously known as the Comstock Building, was a five-story commercial building in the River South District of Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The structure was completed in 1893 and was owned by the Trautman family from 1945 to 2007. It served as a commercial building until 2008 and was demolished in 2014. It was replaced with a high-rise apartment building that year.
