Thursday, April 5, 2012

Implosion + 20

It happened 20 years ago today-- "The Great Implosion" on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton.

I was broadcasting live from the 8th floor of what was then the First Eastern Bank Building at the corner of Lackawanna and North Washington Avenues that morning.  The great Harry McClintock was producing the broadcast, and he said that when I heard the warning siren, noting that the implosion was imminent, I was to stop talking.  Great advice.  People tuned in to watch the buildings come down, not hear me yammer.  It also gave me the opportunity to grab my camera and snap off a few pictures.

The first photo is in mid collapse.  The second is after the dust had cleared.

I remember hearing the bangs of the dynamite, and my heart stopped.  For  second, it appeared the blasts didn't work.  Then, the buildings jiggled and hung there for a while.  After that, the collapse in a huge cloud of dust.  There was so much to see.  For a while, it was like my mind couldn't process everything my eyes were witnessing.

The dust cloud rolled up Lackawanna Avenue, eventually enveloping the First Eastern Bank Building.  When the dust cleared and we had a chance to look around, we saw that everything went exactly as planned-- except for our broadcast.  More on that tomorrow, as we wrap up implosion week.