The tallest building in Kentucky’s capital city came crashing down in a controlled implosion Sunday , delighting thousands of onlookers who quickly scurried away to avoid the dust cloud that billowed overhead.
Sunday’s demolition of the 28-story Capital Plaza Tower will make way for a new modern five-story office building and its 1,100-spot parking garage.
The tower opened in 1972 as a state office building and closed in 2016.
The 28-story Capital Plaza Tower starts to fall during a controlled demolition in Frankfort, Ky., on Sunday, March 11, 2018
The tower opened in 1972 as a state office building and closed in 2016
Republican Gov. Matt Bevin (Pictured) did not push the ceremonial plunger to start the demolition, instead auctioning off the honor in a charity fundraiser
Republican Gov. Matt Bevin did not push the ceremonial plunger to start the demolition.
Instead, he auctioned off that right on eBay, with all proceeds going to benefit a charity started by his wife.
The #WeAreKY Foundation, started by Matt Bevin’s wife, Glenna (Pictured) ,supports the state’s foster children
The #WeAreKY Foundation supports the state’s foster children. It has no paid staff, and the Executive Branch Ethics Commission said it is not a conflict for Bevin to raise money for charity this way.
‘It’s amazing that even as we are here to see a building come down, the dollars that are being generated in some measure from this are helping to build families up,’ Bevin told the crowd shortly before the demolition.
The winning bid of $15,000 came from a Shelbyville resident, A.J. Stivers, who owns a company that provides on-site vision and hearing exams at schools across Kentucky.
Owner of the demolition company hired to knock down the building told local CBS affiliate WLKY that his family has been in the demolition business for last six decades.
‘From the time you hear the first explosion nothing is going to happen for about the first six seconds or so,’ said Controlled Demolition Incorporated CEO Mark Loizeaux.
‘The key is getting the building moving, then keeping it moving steadily in the chosen direction of fall which is typically to the east,’ Loizeaux added.
The winning bid of $15,000 came from a Shelbyville resident, A.J. Stivers