Demolition crews bring down Houston skyscraper

  HOUSTON -- It didn't take long -- mere seconds, in fact -- to create a new hole in the skyline of the Texas Medical Center.

Demolition crews used high explosives to implode the 20-story former Prudential Building that had been a landmark of the district landscape southwest of downtown Houston since 1952.

The crews had planned initially to touch off the explosives shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday, but dense fog delayed the series of blasts until 11:15 a.m.

The Prudential Insurance Co. of America built the 500,000-square-foot skyscraper to serve as its southwest regional headquarters. The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center bought the building in 1974 and made it the center's main building in 1980 before vacating and closing the building in April 2010.

A master plan for the area calls for a new clinical building that will connect to the Duncan Building and Mays Clinic.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Buildings go down as part of Houston Demolition Day

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Old, worn down buildings -- places people call eyesores -- were being torn down Saturday as part of the City of Houston Demolition Day.

This is one of 99 homes the city tore down Saturday. Over the next couple weeks, the mayor says they plan to demolish 400.

In all, the city of Houston has identified 8,000 "dangerous" buildings they say need to be demolished.

"Our neighborhoods are peppered with abandoned properties and they're a source of complaints," Mayor Annise Parker said.

The city of Houston launched an initiative last year to demolish these problem properties.

"If they're a fire hazard, or could fall on a neighboring property or into the street, we take those down first," Parker said.

Councilmembers Wanda Adams and Brenda Stardig even mounted the back hoe, joining volunteer crews from the Houston Contractors Association to eliminate the home, which neighbors call a decade-old eyesore.

"No one's been living in this property since we moved in the area and it's been sitting there, and year after year it just gets worse," neighbor Ken Yepp said.

"Once the blight is removed, we're hoping a new home can be built here to keep the character of this community," Adams explained.

Following demolition, the city places liens against these properties. If they're foreclosed on and go to a tax sale, the city collects.

Either way, Yepp hopes getting rid of the mess drives property values up.

"It's going to be a great improvement," he said.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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