I should probably preface this by saying I had no intention of making this post from the outset (Hence, it’s scattered coverage). The demolition was super interesting and I live near it, so I happened to take a fair number of photos throughout the process. Toward the end, I even managed to catch some of the building demolition in action.
The demolition covers roughly three quarters of the block at Second and University in Downtown Seattle. The western corner, an old brick building with storefronts and apartments, still remains. The work began in January 2017, wrapping up later in the spring.
Large construction equipment made pretty quick work of the old building. An aerial assault from long-armed claws picked and pounded critical support points. Excavators on the ground scrape and chew at everything they can reach from about the second floor down. Throughout it all, crews are fire hosing water at the work areas in hopes of keeping dust and debris to a minimum.
It’s really quite a spectacle. If you ever get a chance to watch, I recommend it. This team is literally ripping down a building in the heart of the city, while people and cars casually mill about. While filming, I saw beams falling on excavators, chunks of brick flying across the street, and was hit with a mystery rain from the hose spraying straight over the third story.
The coolest part was definitely the brick corner post. It’s towards the end of the video below, but seeing that crumble was awesome. The machine claw just tickles the wall and it melts into dust.
Construction of the new tower is well underway. From what I’ve seen, it’s going to be a building called 2&U, with 725,000 lease-able square feet throughout 38 floors.
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