'Leaning Tower' Still Won't Topple

Wrecking ball is 'still just ineffective,' witness says
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 24, 2020 5:17 PM CST
Tower Again Survives Demolition Attempt
A wrecking ball smashes against the "Leaning Tower of Dallas" on Monday.   (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The "Leaning Tower of Dallas," a social media sensation born when a part of a building survived implosion, endured hundreds of blows from a wrecking ball Monday. Dozens of people gathered northeast of the city's downtown to watch as a crane was used to batter the former Affiliated Computer Services building. But the developer now says the demolition may take days, the AP reports. The 11-story building found a second life online after surviving a first demolition attempt. It inspired jokes and comparisons to Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa when a Feb. 16 implosion failed to bring down its core. The company that engineered the blast said some explosives did not go off. The following week, people flocked to the site to post photos of themselves pretending to prop up the lopsided tower. The remainder of the building proved resilient Monday, and some onlookers were nonplussed.

"They’re taking the wrecking ball and hitting the side of it over and over again, and it's still just ineffective," said Shawn Graybill, 24, who lives nearby and came out in his pajamas to watch the demolition. "It's not knocking the tower down." Lloyd Nabors, whose company is handling the demolition, previously said the tower was leaning in the direction it was intended to fall, and there aren’t any safety concerns. The building is to be replaced by a $2.5 billion mixed-use project. With the core of the tower, including the elevator shafts, still standing, a spokeswoman for De La Vega Development said the process is expected to take up to another four days. The wrecking crew is using a 5,600-pound ball and following "standard procedure" in starting at the top of the structure and working down, she said. In the meantime, an online petition to "save this landmark from destruction" is adding signatures. Late Monday, people watching the demolition began to take another type of photo—pretending to push the tower over rather than prop it up.

(More demolition stories.)

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