Tall & Urban News

In 14 seconds on Sunday, 19 May, a poignant and fittingly spectacular end came to the former world headquarters of Bethlehem Steel.

As bystanders lined the streets of Bethlehem and gathered on rooftops to watch its long-awaited demolition, the building that once marked the might and influence of the American steel industry collapsed with a crackling roar, raising a cloud of dust over the neighborhood on the city’s west side.

Gravity dropped the Valley’s tallest building slightly southeast of its cruciform footprint. The heap of tangled steel and concrete on the building’s footprint may take a year to clean up—growing accustomed to a skyline without the 332-foot (101-meter) tower at its center may take longer.

“It’s the end of an era,” said Steve Smith, who calls himself the “last janitor” at Martin Tower, having left as head of maintenance in 2003. “I was shocked, with all that steel in it, how easily it came down. I feel sad.”

About 6,500 cubic yards (4,970 cubic meters) of concrete and nearly 16,000 tons (14,515 metric tons) of structural steel collapsed at 7:04 am after a series of explosive charges broke the steel bones of the 21-story building.

The implosion produced a series of bangs within a half-second of each other. Then came a boom, as the demolition contractor predicted, like a strong thunderstorm that reportedly could be heard from as far away as New Jersey.

“A textbook implosion,” said Duane Wagner, a representative of site owners Lewis Ronca and Norton Herrick, who were both on site to watch the spectacle.

The owners were among the thousands across the city that gathered in the early morning hours to witness the implosion. Among the polite crowd, some cheered and others wiped away tears as the tower fell.

For more on this story go The Morning Call.