Leominster: Columbia Demolition: Close to Leveled

[@georgef551]

That is a woman on the crew. She does a very good job, kept us photo/video people safe.

[@TheoBinnendijk]

Splendid video! I love demolition videos and I made some myself. I am a retired building engineer and architect and now demolition is my favorite. Nice to see how this building was constructed. This way of demolition is almost the same as in my country the Netherlands. If you want to see this, look at my videos of the demolition of the old peoples home in Wijchen. Greetings from the Netherlands.

[@georgef551]

Didn't know they can lose their status. This place got modded many times. Most recently, it was to return it to what is was like originally, or close to it. As it came down, the heavy mods showed, especially the rear of the building, where there's walls that never existed.

[@wolfiewolfification]

They really killed it in the end. I guess they lost patience with that slow operator and finally brought in another operator who knows how to wreck a building. Nice work, men. Who are the operators?

[@georgef551]

They went faster for two reasons: (1) They were working on a closed section of streets, which wasn't the case up front. (2) The backside was completely destroyed, so it fell down easier (collapsing).

[@alexp4974]

I would've been in there salvaging every little thing I could get my hands on, such attention to detail in these old buildings, even when there is no option but to tear them down it makes my heart ache

[@georgef551]

Alex P Behind the scenes, the owners and the demo company did save a lot of millwork and other important items from the building, like the front entryway columns, doors, fireplace surrounds, grates, what they could. A bar that was in the building reopened a couple years ago with the original bar, cabinets, and a side exit being the original door to the original establishment.

[@georgef551]

Yep. This place did think of MOST instances of fire damage, but the balloon-framed roof over the lodge failed miserably, sending 2 firefighters to the hospital. From what I understand, the new 4-story building will look like what was there, using the columns, and possibly wood trim, in the new building. The joists that were in decent shape is now part of a new barn built in Westminster, I believe.

[@humblehombre9904]

The hours of back-breaking work to build this beautiful building, and then this horrible conclusion. Very sad to me.

[@robocop6666666]

Interesting to see how old buildings were put together in theses days

[@kc0eks]

dEmo is fun to watch yet sad all the same. thanks for all the videos

[@georgef551]

I get what you mean. You want to see some epic smashing, but losing an iconic structure is the downfall, no pun intended.

[@philepstein524]

Either milking or new operators just learning their craft with the backhoe where time doesn't count.

[@TheWoodbutcher66]

Do these hard-hatted employees need to be that close and carrying out manual handling with 2 diggers available?

[@NorthlandElevators]

It must be fun to be a crane operator. Like playing a real-life video game.

[@georgef551]

Yeah, they didn't enjoy knocking this one down, but what looked like minor damage, was hidden throughout behind the walls, and in the floors. This building was on the National Historic Register, so it has to be in extremely bad shape to get knocked down. We also have an old H.S. building that closed in 64, reopened as a junior high until 84. Used rarely, falling apart since 64. It's condemned, and collapsed in quite a few places. That one isn't on the register, but there's interest in it....

[@Jim_Snape]

One guy looks like he's trying to learn how to run the machine, or he's just blind..

[@georgef551]

I do admit there was some instances that they goofed up, but they also took their time, because the fire marshal stated the building was very unstable. For the most part, it wasn't.

[@manga12]

oh indeed they can, if it is no longer the building that it was, the protection is not iron clade though I wish it was.

[@eerbeekernaar]

it looks like there was a fire on the top floor or not ??cause it is zo black

[@georgef551]

rick busser Yep, big fire went through the roof, the crawlspace above, and through the walls and floors down to the 2nd level.

[@kdw75]

I have run equipment enough to know that these guy seem to be taking their sweet time. They also seem somewhat reckless. It could have been done safer and quicker with a better operator.

[@georgef551]

There's a ton of salvaged material. The Historical Society (Leominster's) have some fireplace mantles and surrounds, bricks, and I have elevator panels/fixtures.

[@Francis362003]

I take that the reason of taking this down that it was on fire at one point?

[@MitchGrooms]

great vid

[@southshore2357]

It looks like they are afraid to break the building.

[@starxlr7863]

So why was this hotel being demolished??

[@georgef551]

+AMCNorthstar 93 It was destroyed by fire within the structure. While things don't look bad in the rooms, the joists and studs were ruined. There's areas that collapsed during the entire project from weakness.

[@starxlr7863]

georgef551 Wow that's a shame. I didn't realize it. I just saw another video on here showing the building on fire. Another one of our historic buildings being destroyed by something.

[@manga12]

yea the national registery of historical places is not iron clad, offers some protection, but not total especialy if the building is altered in shape, or ceases to be in buisness, it can be striped of the designation, like that st pauls church in fort wayne I told you about on the other video, it was on the registory at one point, or soldier field in home of the bears after renovations it was stripped of its status since it was just the outside of the origional the interior was gutted, sad man

[@Jguy365]

What a waste. When you are struggling to find landfill space and are running out of building resources, don't come crying to me.

[@georgef551]

Jguy365 Actually, the way the buisness goes nowadays, most of the building is actually recycled. The bricks are being cleaned and reused, thousands given to reidents as kepsakes. Metal is being melted down for reuse. It's not tear it down, put it all in a dump truck anymore, in fact, very little of it went to a landfill (not even 10% of it).

[@Xenaisthebusiness]

why are they letting that monster attack the house?

[@georgef551]

Nobody knows. It's still standing 2 years later, but a new building and it's design, will dictate whether's it's days are numbered, or not.

[@chriscumming25]

wow this is a cool demolition vid i like this one

[@dougerrn]

These operators are slow. Push the wood in pull the brick out. Repeat process until center is full. Scoop up brick, move excavator closer and continue. Two day job for one experienced operator.

[@georgef551]

They are slow, because the building was very unstable, and if they rushed it, the thing could collapse into the street, kill people. There's been several instances where the building unexpectedly collapsed, some into the street (all was OK), due to instability not even true experts can predict.

[@gooblin1982]

georgef551 hehe that kinda funn since there is a fella almost walking into the building at a corner that is almost gone at 6.13 no brain no pain

[@TheWoodbutcher66]

gooblin1982 Precisley!!!

[@CVD-di1xn]

In Buffalo, NY the preservationists are funded by the city hall and they want to keep these buildings. The urban renewal department want to tear this stuff down. They too are funded by the city hall. The court battle goes on for years and the media just eats this up. WTF Over.

[@georgef551]

KZbin has been 3D for years. Many people just don't bother with the hassles of editing those kinds of videos.

[@chriscumming25]

pretty cool vid..

[@vivitar45]

looks like some one was still living in there was personal stuff still in it

[@georgef551]

The building was too unstable to let people in, as the fire damage was inside the floors and walls. Firefighters went in after to get what they can.

[@manga12]

so in closing while they have a job to do, they were a little sad and had some remorse tearing it down, and they took it apart bit by bit to make sure to recycle everthing, and save some facades for selling to the community, and got every penny out of it they could as well as reusing good beams that they could resell, after all the highshool was almost 100 years old and still structuraly sound it was getting too small and had asbestos and black mold in it though :

[@robert3302]

Whatever they replace this with won't be nearly as good.

[@georgef551]

Very true, but the owners are going to try and make it close to what was there, including the use of it's facade columns and millwork.

[@galeyankful]

the operators are milking this job! lol

[@georgef551]

+galeyankful They had to go slowly, as the building was very unstable from an internal fire. In previous videos, the building collapsed in spots due to the instability.

[@galeyankful]

+georgef551 makes sense..thanks for response

[@georgef551]

galeyankful No problem.

[@AGDemo]

I could of done more with a pick axe.

[@TheCitroenman1]

well cowboy demo if it all comes down you dont need the hard hats

[@manga12]

yea but if you want to demo something do it to a non discript building not a historical structure, when part of an icon dies part of our history and our culture dies with it, from those that came before us that built this and left us this gift like churches and theaters especialy, as well as homes of world firsts, like the highschool demo I have taped on my channel, everyone on that demo crew save one graduated from there even the young girl who graduated not even 3 days before from that school

[@xXMovienut44Xx1]

They wonder why we have no heritiage

[@gloriahanes3843]

Why not demo at night with spotlights and shut the street down and commute the traffic in another direction.

[@telclivo7945]

+Gloria Hanes Because that would be very dangerous. The building was very unstable which is why the operators were going slow. Having a very unstable building and being in low visibility would have mean't that you wouldn't be able to see any fault occurring that could put you in danger.

[@cooldog60]

Why don't you start your own demo company and show them how it is done?

[@johnmccartan939]

At the rate this guys going people will be living in floating buildings lol it's almost like the teeth on the bucket are made of paper and the arm is made of butter the and the building is made of rebar & reinforced concrete .I can't even watch it it's infuriatingly slow you'd think he was trying to perform surgery instead of pulling down a red brick building .