Clock Tower Demolition, Bethesda

www.pedestrians...
Demolition of a clock tower on Hampden Lane in Bethesda, Maryland. It's part of the same project as the demolition of 7316 Wisconsin Avenue.
Produced by John Z Wetmore, producer of "Perils For Pedestrians".

[@robertschwartzman195]

I would pay good money to save a clock that size. What a wonderful waste 😩

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

It needed smashing down, but there's plenty of architectural salvage for sale all over the place, if you have lots of spare cash. Go and buy some!

[@maple-leafs13]

Don't worry! They're building a giant mcdonalds restaurant over that with modern architecture.

[@northvilletunnels]

It was cheap junk.

[@Leatherface123.]

Can you tear down the Woolworth building in NYC since y’all love demolishing history so much

[@northvilletunnels]

This looked like bad 80's architecture cheap plastic faces with a Chinese motor.

[@roccon4246]

This wasn’t historic. Most likely built in the late 20th century.

[@constructionwatcher5381]

Thanks, John. You really worked to find good vantage points for this one. Well done. So that whole tower was purely decorative -- no useable space at all. That was an interesting machine they used. Simpler and shorter boom than other high-reach models we've seen. I suppose that lets them use a heavier tool. The shear really did a job on that concrete. And the operator did a great job of not dropping heavy pieces on the sides they were trying to protect with the netting, which seemed challenging.

[@JohnZWetmore]

The ideal spot would have been on a fifth floor balcony of one of the neighboring buildings, but I made do with spots on the ground. The shear was working hard. The operator commented on the high PSI of the concrete. There was a brick walkway and an office building just to the west. They covered it with plywood, which protected it from small debris, but would not have been adequate for the heavy pieces.

[@constructionwatcher5381]

@@JohnZWetmore I noticed he had trouble breaking into those large beams at first, but he seems to have figured out how to attack them effectively. I saw all those balconies on what look like residential buildings, and not a soul on any of them taking advantage of the free entertainment. :-(

[@jeffe.1586]

What a shame to demolish a beautiful clock structure! What's wrong with people now days ? Destroy Destroy Destroy.... How very sad !!!!!

[@joeculver7489]

The architect who designed this empty tower should have designed the condo in Florida that collapsed.

[@MassimilianoAlbanese]

I understand when they down old decrepit building, but destroying everything to make room for more apartments? How many people do they want to pack in Bethesda?

[@KLM817]

Great video as always!! I wish they could have re purposed one or all of those clocks though.

[@procta2343]

sometimes places like this, normally are picked of times like that, so that they can be reused. But they just seemed to have not bothered and destroyed the lot.

[@paulkandi]

Thats one hell of a clock tower, just for 4 plastic clocks...

[@mackhopper]

The lack of repurposing, in all of these videos, is sickening. Just had to trash the clocks after dismantling?

[@procta2343]

you would have thought those would have been whipped out and put into storage and later reused else where.

[@mackhopper]

@@procta2343 exactly!

[@RobertLake-mf2qt]

I guess there is a reason for everything, but that clock tower sure looked like a very nice feature. I guess everything has a lifetime, but didn't the clock tower add something special to the surroundings? OK, the decision makers rule, but have them kept away from my area.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

I think they could have gone straight in with the concrete pulveriser. It would have made quick work of the brick and avoided the risks and time of working of a platform with hand tools.

[@theray2009]

16:15 rip

[@banthony3775]

Who decided to remove the clocks and for what reason?

[@markpinther9296]

Fun to watch. Bugs me about the clock faces. Also curious as to why physical labor was used as opposed to simply using a machine. I am sure there is a good reason. Thanks for filming this!

[@northvilletunnels]

Cost.

[@Engineer9736]

@@northvilletunnels Source of information? Or just yelling something to come across smart?

[@northvilletunnels]

@@Engineer9736 Working construction for decades. Man is cheaper than machine..

[@Vladimir_Kotov]

Полностью отсутствует логика у этого тракториста при ломке бетонной конструкции. Также как у всей Европы. А у американцев тем более.

[@curlywood]

That concrete seems prity tough Lol

[@jeanhawken4482]

Fabulous video

[@JohnZWetmore]

Thanks.

[@michaelbarnard2128]

Shame to see it demolished although i love watching demo videos, shame it couldn't be incorporated into the new build , nothing wrong with tat clock tower

[@johnlibeg1683]

I understand the use of water to keep down dust. But this appears to be an awful waste of water.

[@clausb.2032]

sehr gute bilder, wir alle sind begeistert!

[@ldgrmp]

If it's going to be demolished, why spend so much time and effort on the sheet metal top?

[@michaelstadtler6122]

Thats copper it will be sold as scrap metal.

[@Leatherface123.]

@@michaelstadtler6122 god DAMN people are money hungry, tear down the fucking Empire State Building while we’re at it, money money money destroy the history

[@MikeX3000]

@@michaelstadtler6122 Valeuble indeed.

[@zacheryalderton6741]

3 hrs and 12 mins Wow

[@MikeX3000]

It must be so difficult to use a jackhammer on a wavering platform.

[@pavelvilsov2437]

wow, I saw the claw teeth in close-up))))

[@jeffreyheflin2037]

QUESTION. WHY BUILD IT IF YOU'RE GOING TO TEAR IT DOWN? ANSWER PEOPLE DO NOT CARE FOR CLOCKS ANYMORE. PERIOD!

[@shawnaburns5158]

Pretty dumb they could have sold those clocks to a collector smh people nowadays aren't so smart

[@Bahnchef1994]

Good Video

[@JohnZWetmore]

Thanks.

[@sirenfan97]

What a waste of time

[@CreamyPennePasta]

It won’t let me watch. It says no stream

[@JohnZWetmore]

It seems to be working now. Refresh your browser and try again.

[@geraldharkness8830]

what a crying shame to demolish a beautiful clock tower😒 as always,you dont know what you have got,til its gone!

[@kingahmahn7753]

Was that bergs high-reach machine or did that belong to another demolition contractor ?

[@JohnZWetmore]

It might have been a rental machine.

[@jamesmiller2332]

When these developers have zillions to spend they will tear down everything to make a profit. Everything is fair game to these blood suckers.

[@johnmaguire9305]

This is not good use of resources or time. What’s the point of two men scratching around on a platform when one skilled operator in a demolition crane with a pincer attachment could do the job in a fraction of the time?

[@JohnZWetmore]

The clock tower was in close proximity to the neighboring office building, including the pedestrian walkway leading to its entrance. As much demolition as possible was done by hand to minimize debris falling towards the other building. The underlying concrete structure was taken down on the weekend when the neighboring building could be closed. But it still required a skilled operator to prevent errant chunks of concrete from doing damage.

[@juanmiguelm.estocado1871]

Ohh noooooooooooooo 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@botteux68]

Quelle tristesse de voir détruire des horloges en aussi bon état !

[@markbriggs-g5v]

Don't see the point of manual demolition if u r not saving the clocks ! The machines will be able to do same as humans but faster as man is feeble carbon unit😂lol