There was a thunderous roar, a monumental collapse, then nothing.
Martin Tower is no more. Its long-anticipated demolition went off seamlessly, according to Mark Loizeaux, president of Controlled Demolition, Inc. Thousands turned out on a calm, overcast morning to watch the tower fall at 7:03 a.m. Sunday.
The demolition was delayed three minutes to remove people from three locations where they “edged up” close to the tower.
“They weren’t on the site but they were inside the established permitted zone,” Loizeaux said, adding, “A few young people were hiding in the trees.”
Once the tallest building in the Lehigh Valley, the cross-shaped tower dominated the Bethlehem landscape since 1972. It once provided corner officers to Bethlehem Steel executives. It outlasted the company but has been vacant since 2007.
With no feasible plans to renovate it, the tower’s owner decided to take it down. Its 53-acre campus is slated to become a mixed-use development of 528 garden-style apartments, retail, medical office buildings, a hotel and a gas station.
For some, the tower stood for corporate greed. Others loved it so much they started a Facebook group to save it. Now it’s gone but the mark it left on the community endures.
Martin Tower demolition: A photo history of the Bethlehem Steel headquarters before its implosion
From its proposal in 1968 to one last look from the roof, see the history of Martin Tower, the former Bethlehem Steel headquarters and the Lehigh Valley’s tallest building.
Keep checking lehighvalleylive.com for more coverage of the Martin Tower implosion.
Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com
Martin Tower stands moments before it's demolished at 7 a.m. May 19, 2019, in Bethlehem.
Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com
Martin Tower disappears in a cloud of dust in Bethlehem.
Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2019/05/and-then-it-was-gone-martin-tower-demolition-goes-off-without-a-hitch-in-bethlehem.html
2019-05-19 11:42:00Z
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