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Photos: Everglades Hotel implosion


Aessotariq

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7:59am

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8:00am: the bells toll from the clock tower at Miami-Dade College Wolfson Campus.

8:01am Going...

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...going...

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...gone!

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Helicopter flying overhead... no color correction (that's haze)

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Hazy and dusty

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More haze

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Observers on the roof of AmericanAirlines Arena

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the day it "snowed" in Miami:

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A piece of debris hit a window on a building across the street:

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South Florida Urban Search and Rescue Team: prior to demolition, meat and mannequins were planted on various floors, and a search-and-rescue drill was conducted

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Street cleanup:

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I have more... more will follow

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Posted on Mon, Jan. 24, 2005

MIAMI

Historic hotel imploded

Everglades Hotel space to make room for condo towers

BY SUSAN ANASAGASTI

[email protected]

It stood tall as a downtown landmark for seven decades, but was gone in eight seconds.

The Everglades Hotel, which at 16 stories once reigned as Miami's largest and most luxurious hotel, went down in a thundering implosion, sparking an instant transformation of the city's skyline.

Early Sunday morning, 50 pounds of explosives along with 137 pounds of ''steel cutting charges'' were ignited inside the hotel to make way for a massive condo project -- Everglades on the Bay.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

''Pah! Pah! Pah!'' went the loud blast, and a cloud of dust covered the sky.

The takedown drew several hundred spectators to the site at 244 Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami, near Bayfront Park.

Many gathered on the streets with digital cameras to capture the historic hotel crashing to the ground.

''Wow! I didn't think the explosion would be that loud and powerful,'' said 12-year-old Kyle Nolfo, a student at Miami Lakes Middle School. ``This is much better in real life.''

Though Kyle was thrilled with Sunday's dramatic scene and all its Hollywood elements, his father, Brian Nolfo, 51, was sad to see the 1920s skyscraper go.

Nolfo remembers visiting as a child. His grandmother worked as a cashier at the hotel's coffee shop from 1950 to the 1970s.

''Whenever I came down from New York I always got a free meal there,'' said Nolfo, now a Miami Lakes resident. ``I'm nostalgic about it. It was part of Miami's original skyline.''

Anita Fernandez and her 11-year-old son, Blaze, woke up at 5:30 a.m. to make it on time to the 8 a.m. implosion. They stood in front of Bayfront Park, gazing at the empty building, stripped of its interiors and windows.

Fernandez recalled the many times she met friends for dinner at the hotel.

Sunday morning those friends stayed at home, she said.

''They didn't want to come,'' said Fernandez, a teacher at Naranja Elementary School. ``This is more of a sad moment for them.''

Still, some couldn't wait to witness the building collapse into a pile of rubble. It's a rare opportunity, they said.

''This is an event. I love this stuff,'' said Jerry Miller, manager of the Bayside Plaza. ``This is the best free entertainment in Miami.''

Jacobo Cababie, a principal in CABI Developers, gave final approval for the implosion. He and a group of dignitaries had a private viewing party at the Bayfront Park Amphitheater.

Cababie expects the new luxury condominiums, which will feature two 49-story towers, to be completed within 2

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I've got to say, it definitely made me sad. I wasn't quite expecting it, but I almost shed a tear. The old beauty will be missed. I was on the other side of the implosion, so my shots will be a little different. I'll post them when I get them developed. It was a lot of fun though.

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I've got to say, it definitely made me sad.  I wasn't quite expecting it, but I almost shed a tear.  The old beauty will be missed.  I was on the other side of the implosion, so my shots will be a little different.  I'll post them when I get them developed.  It was a lot of fun though.

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I agree. I was disappointed when I saw that the hotel was gone. It is a shame though because I enjoyed the old hotel. Times change though and a great piece of history goes with it as it collapsed. I will miss the Everglades Hotel.

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It's always disappointing to see history destroyed, especially since this area is so young and there's so little of it to begin with. This particular one struck a personal chord. I learned something I hadn't been told before, but apparently this was a hotel that my mother had been staying at before she emigrated to the United States and met my dad.

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btw, is that Loft 1 going up next to the pile of rubble?

And I didn't notice the screens on the capital lofts restoration. it's nice to see theire actualling starting to work on that one. I doubted the developers intent on that one, but he looks like they're going ahead with it.

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btw, is that Loft 1 going up next to the pile of rubble?

And I didn't notice the screens on the capital lofts restoration.  it's nice to see theire actualling starting to work on that one.  I doubted the developers intent on that one, but he looks like they're going ahead with it.

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yeah...but, do the screens indicate that work has actually begun, or was it just for the implosion (loft 1 had the same screens too)??

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