NEW ORLEANS — In a matter of seconds, a 17-story hotel was imploded Sunday after months of delay.
The old Pallas Hotel on Canal Street was blown up at 8 a.m. with 400 tons of explosives, creating a huge plume of smoke. State officials said the demolition went smoothly.
The city closed several streets and Interstate 10 before and after the demolition. The interstate was reopened Sunday morning.
The demolition took place to make way for the new University Medical Center, a hospital being built to replace the old Charity Hospital, which was closed after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and flooded the hospital’s basement.
The Pallas Hotel was one of the last buildings remaining on the site where the new hospital is being built. The building, originally called Claiborne Towers, has changed hands several times since its 1950 opening but has sat abandoned as a hotel for many years.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 07/23/2012