Dallas Demolition Doesn't Quite Finish the Job

People are having fun with 'leaning tower' photo op
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 18, 2020 12:03 PM CST

Dallas has its own version of the leaning tower of Pisa after a demolition failed Sunday morning. Crews imploded the former Affiliated Computer Services building, or at least, they imploded most of it: The elevator shaft and stairwell of the 11-story building did not fall. (See the video.) The owner of the company handling the demolition says it will be completed this week using a crane and a wrecking ball, the Dallas Morning News reports. "The remaining structure is safely contained within the job site and poses no threat to any surrounding buildings or pedestrians," he adds.

As for why the implosion, which used 300 pounds of dynamite, didn't work, the president of another company involved in the demolition tells NBC News the building essentially "undressed itself" too quickly: "The skirt came off the core," which remained standing; the demolition team says this sometimes happens with older buildings that have a steel and concrete core around the elevator shaft. It is listing at 15 degrees (Pisa's tower has a nearly 4-degree lean), and NBC DFW has an amusing photo gallery of people taking pictures with the "leaning tower of Dallas" very similar to the pictures tourists take in Pisa. (More Dallas stories.)

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