This
skyscraper is significant not for what it is, but
for what it almost wasn't. It was scheduled to be
demolished in the summer of 2001, but managed to be
spared from the wrecking ball -- just barely. It was
badly damaged when Fort Worth took a direct hit from
a tornado March 28, 2000. The twister destroyed several
nearby buildings and heavily damaged others. It was
eventually closed to the public because it was too
dangerous. The building was sold and the new owners
hired a New York company called Dismantlement and
Environmental Management to level the building. In
this photograph you can see that most of the windows
were blown out and are now replaced by plywood as
the tower awaits its demise. A number of superlatives
were attached to this event: It was going to be the
fifth tallest building in the world to be demolished.
It was going to be the tallest structure in North
America to be demolished. It was going to be the tallest
building in Texas to be demolished. The city has embraced
the blast as a cause for celebration. Local merchants
have even created an "Implosion 2001" festival to
capitalize on the event. While it is easy to criticize
these people for trying to make money off a tragedy,
they should be lauded for what they're doing for the
city. Downtown Fort Worth is in the middle of a rebirth
that has transformed many of its abandoned spaces
into a vital thriving community. Rather than let the
abandoned monolith remain, they intend to remove it
as quickly as possible in order to continue the revitalization
process in a city that has otherwise gone to great
lengths to preserve its historic architecture. That,
combined with a budget crunch helped save the building.
Instead of tearing it down, the city decided that
it was architecture worth saving, and being turned
into an apartment tower.
