2018 was a noticeably slow year in the world of demolition videos , but it’s not exactly clear what caused that. Even though the quantity of videos was down last year, we have scoured the earth for some extremely high quality and fun-to-watch demolitions.
In addition to the videos below, there was a lot of big demolition news throughout the year. It was announced early in the year that a 52 story building in New York is planned to be demolished, which would make it the record holder for tallest building every voluntarily demolished. That led us to find a list of the 100 Tallest buildings that have ever been demolished, as well.
There was also some somber demolition news, including a Miami Beach Hi Rise Demolition that went poorly and ended up killing the demolition contractor’s project manager. Due to that sad news, it didn’t feel right to add this video to the list.
On to the list! Let us know your favorites in the comments below!
7. Demolition Reduces Frankfurt Kentucky’s Tallest Building to Rubble in Seconds
The first demolition video that we shared in 2018 was the straight forward and clean implosion of one of Kentucky’s former tallest buildings.
Before March of 2018, the 28-story Capital Plaza Office in Frankfort, Kentucky was the tallest building in the city. It stood 330 feet tall for 46 years before it was imploded on March 11 to make room for a new 385,500 square foot office building that will house 1,500 employees and a parking structure that will hold around 1,200 vehicles, according to USA Today.
6. Simultaneous Demolition of Two 462 Feet Tall Cooling Towers
Two is better than one is a saying that’s true in a lot of areas, but nothing could be more true it demolitions. Multiple structures imploding at the same time is always a treat. In June, a decommissioned Florida Power Plant saw to the implosion of two 462 feet tall cooling towers in spectacular fashion.
5. Watch the Tallest Building to Ever Be Demolished by Implosion
This is actually a really great video, but it’s not technically a 2018 demolition. I only found it this year due to research following my research surrounding the aforementioned world’s tallest demolition that’s in the works. If it wasn’t for that, this video would surely rank higher.
Completed in 1911, the Hudson Department Store stood 410 feet and contained 29 floors. The retail store in the building was in operation until 1983, but the building was still occupied by office staff until 1986. The building was eventually sold in 1989 and then finally demolished 9 years later in 1998.
The demolition still stands as the world’s tallest building to ever be demolished by implosion and, judging by the extreme amount of dust and debris that engulfed the city afterward, I have a hard time believing that the record will ever be broken.
4. 10 Excavators Demolish 340 Foot Long, 62 Foot Wide Overpass in 20 Hours
Implosions are obviously very fun to watch, but a good old fashioned, well-organized team effort can be just as satisfying. Priestly Demolition Inc. is a master at overnight overpass demolitions and this video below shows them completely clearing away the 340 foot long, 62 foot wide Victoria Street Bridge in Ontario, Canada in 20 hours, 9 hours ahead of schedule.
3. Unfinished Bridge in Colombia Demolished After Partial Collapse
While the demolition of this bridge makes for a pretty enjoyable video, it does have an extremely sad backstory. In January of 2018, ten construction workers were killed and another eight were injured when a bridge spanning the Chirajara canyon in Colombia partially collapsed.
The cable-stayed bridge was supposed to span 1,463 feet across the 938 foot deep canyon before it collapsed. I chose to include this video, as opposed to the Miami collapse mentioned above, because the demolition itself is not what caused the injuries and fatalities.
2. Watch 2 Power Plant Buildings and Chimney Stack Demolished Simultaneously
Production quality should not be overlooked on demolition videos and this one takes the cake in 2018. With multiple views of high quality footage of the implosion of 3 structures, this video is definitely worthy of being in the top 2.
Controlled Demolitions Inc. took on the project at Great River Energy (GRE) Power Station in Stanton, North Dakota. 2 Hung Boiler units and a 255 foot tall brick lined concrete chimney were taken down with 108 detonation points.
1. Silo Demolition Goes Opposite Way and Lands on Adjacent Building
Not all demolitions go as planned, but thankfully no one was injured on this mishap.
A silo at the port in Vordingborg, Denmark was set for demolition on April 6, 2018 and the implosion caused it to fall, as planned, but it didn’t quite go in the direction they were hoping. As you can see in the video below, the silo was weakened on the left side, where they wanted it to go, but when the explosions happened, it sat on the base and then slowly started to head toward one of the adjacent buildings.
On Tuesday morning, February 23, the Syracuse Fire Department responded to a call about a collapsed crane on a construction site near the university. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.