D.C. Convention Center Implosion December 18, 2004

Former Convention Center to Be Imploded

The old Washington Convention Center will go out with a bang, or a series of them, Dec. 18, when the 20-year-old building is scheduled to be demolished.

The Convention Center's steel and concrete columns will be rigged with explosives designed to collapse the steel roof sequentially. The implosion of the building at 11th Street and New York Avenue NW is to begin at 7:30 a.m. Convention Center officials said traffic closures, part of a safety perimeter around the dark-glass-and-concrete building, will be in effect from 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. The entire event likely will last about 20 seconds.

Tony Robinson, spokesman for the Washington Convention Center Authority, said he does not anticipate widespread problems with traffic, noise or dust. He said Convention Center officials have met with nearby property owners, the Secret Service, hotels and city agencies to coordinate the implosion. The 10-acre site will be a parking lot while the city determines how to redevelop it.

(From the post)