The abandoned Harts Tower, which had become a symbol of the destruction wrought by the successive hurricanes that hit Louisiana in 2020, was finally demolished on Saturday.
Footage from a demolition site in Lake Charles shows the moment workers set off a series of explosions inside, causing the aging 22-story skyscraper formerly known as Capital One Tower to collapse.
The explosion sent a huge cloud of dirt into the air, spreading across a region where years of unfulfilled promises to restore the once-storied tower had left it in disrepair.
Lake Charles Mayor Nick Hunter, whose administration helped secure $7 million in private funds to cover the demolition costs, called the event “bittersweet.”
“I know the city tried hard to work with several development groups to save the building, but in the end it proved to be too difficult a task,” Hunter said shortly before the blast.
“It's been four years already. Enough is enough.”
Harts Tower and Lake Charles were hit directly by Hurricane Laura in 2020, a Category 4 storm that destroyed buildings and killed more than 25 people in the area.
As Louisiana struggled to recover, Hurricane Delta struck the region six weeks later, with the National Hurricane Center estimating damages from the twin storms at $22 billion.
The storm caused extensive damage to Hartz Tower, a mainstay of the city's skyline for more than 40 years, with shattered windows, ripped tarpaulins and flooding.
The property's owner, Hertz Investment Group, had promised to repair the building if an out-of-court settlement with insurer Zurich was reached. The Advocate reported..
The estimated cost of restoring the building was set at $167 million, but the two sides ultimately settled for an undisclosed amount.
City officials said the land is still owned by Hertz and the site's future is unclear.
Hertz Investment Group did not immediately respond to The Washington Post's request for comment.
With post wire
