Thanks to the Richards Group for giving WFAA access to their building for this stream.
Another day, another bit of progress made on taking down the 'Leaning Tower of Dallas.'
But as day three of the demolition process begins Wednesday, the question remains: how long will it actually take crews to bring down the core shaft of an 11-story building that was supposed to have imploded more than a week ago?
Crews don't appear to have a solid answer to that question, though after initially saying it would be about three to four days, they are now saying it could potentially take "weeks" to bring the tower down, a news release from De La Vega Development, Nabors Demo and Ashler Projects said Tuesday.
A new wrecking ball was brought in Tuesday afternoon, and crews seemed to be having better luck after a large chunk of the building fell to the ground shortly thereafter.
Nabors Demolition confirmed to WFAA that the new wrecking ball is the same weight (5,600 pounds) as the one used Monday – it’s just a different shape. They would not elaborate on why the shape of the wrecking ball was different.
The change came after the public had already had a field day with the image of the original wrecking ball, which to the untrained eye looked to be rather small and somewhat ineffective against the tower.
The original ball even had its own Twitter account made, though the account was suspended by Twitter sometime Tuesday.
Nabors Demo said the wrecking ball alone is not supposed to demolish what’s left of the building. They told WFAA that the wrecking ball will take the remaining structure down four to five floors. Then crews will use a high-reach excavator, which is already on-site, to finish the job.
Some have wondered why a bigger crane wasn’t brought in to handle a bigger wrecking ball. Nabors Demo told WFAA that due to “size constraints of the site” and “crane availability,” crews had to use the current crane and wrecking ball.
The 'Leaning Tower' Phenomenon
The building is the former Affiliated Computer Services building, according to information released on Feb. 21. Xerox announced it was acquiring ACS in Sept. 2009, and in 2015 Xerox hired commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield to market the building.
But it's now known for something else entirely.
The 'Leaning Tower of Dallas' became an immediate icon across the city after the core shaft failed to collapse during an implosion on Feb. 16.
People from all over have visited the area in Uptown since to take photos with the tower. Even a petition to save it and various memorabilia like artwork and t-shirts has been created.
While the public got time to take their photos, crews were working to bring in the crane and wrecking ball to begin the process of taking the tower down piece by piece.
It took about a week to get the necessary equipment, with Monday being the first demolition day in what had become a highly anticipated public event.
The size of the wrecking ball and slow nature of the process has only exacerbated public interest, making the entire demolition rather infamous across the metroplex.
WFAA will live stream the entire demolition.
What will go in its place?
Crews are working to clear the area to make room for The Central, a $2.5 billion development made up of residential, hotel, restaurant, entertainment and retail space that will take up 5 million square feet.
“Anything that makes people happy, makes people feel good, will be a part of this project,” Developer Artemio De La Vega told WFAA. “Dallas deserves first-class and that’s our mission, our mission is to deliver first-class to the citizens of Dallas.”
Below is a gallery of several renderings of the planned development.
An art exhibit is also now part of the plan for the development-- it will feature photos and other memorabilia of the now-infamous leaning tower.
If you want to have your photos or artwork featured in a future gallery space, just post them to Instagram using #LeaningTowerofDallas and tag The Central's account, @DiscoverTheCentral.
