Out with the old and in with the new. An old hotel in New Orleans was imploded this weekend to make room for future buildings. Within seconds, the 17-story hotel came down after months of delay.
The Pallas Hotel, also known as the Grand Palace on Canal Street in New Orleans was blown up on Sunday. At 8 a.m. 400 tons of explosives were used to take down the old building, according to The Associated Press. The process, which officials say went smoothly, was caught on video. The video shows the building coming down and creating a huge smoke cloud.
Before imploding the building, several streets and Interstate 10 were closed off. The streets continued to be blocked off shortly after the demolition, but were later reopened on Sunday.
About 200 people were evacuated from the area before the demolition took place. About 16 residents and six pets were placed in other hotels. More than a dozen residents from the nearby the Iberville public housing complex were also removed from the area by bus. Residents expressed concerns about the dust and debris created from the explosion, according to The Associated Press.
The building was taken down to make room for the new University Medical Center. The new hospital will replace the old Charity Hospital which was destroyed and closed due to basement flooding after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The Pallas Hotel was among the last buildings in the area where the hospital is set to be built. The Pallas Hotel originally opened as the Claiborne Towers in 1950. It has several owners, but it eventually remained abandoned for several years.
The addition of the hospital and the demolition of the building are "an important milestone" for the city according to Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Despite the building coming down within a few seconds, the demolition took a long time to carry out. It was originally scheduled for Nov. 20, however it was rescheduled due to permit issues. The building was then set to be demolished on Dec. 18, however hazardous materials found within the building by environmental regulators caused the demolition to be delayed twice more.
It will take contractors several months to clean up the debris from the imploded hotel.
