SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — There has been some talk around town of demolishing Salt Lake buildings to make way for a new entertainment district. With demolition comes the possibility of some good ol’ dynamite explosions — something ABC4’s Craig Wirth said is not new to the city. “It has been a while around here since we watched buildings and other structures go boom,” he said.
In August 2000, the iconic Murray stacks were on schedule to be blown up. The 8-million pound stacks once used to take arsenic and other harmful substances 450 feet in the air and out of the way of the city, and the brick still contained a lot of that arsenic. Because of that, the Murray mayor figured it might not be a good idea for residents to be out and about when the time came time for the stacks to go “boom”.
He encouraged everyone to stay inside, but they didn’t listen — lining the streets to watch it happen. The city was packed as they awaited the big moment. “And oh my goodness.
The stacks came down and it was a pretty good sight to see,” Wirth said. In 1915, the Newhouse Hotel was a symbol of excellence. There were 12 floors of rooms and a stairway that went to French ballrooms that held lavish parties.
However, by 1933 the room service wasn’t quite as good and a wrecking crew tore out the beautiful dining room and cut support beams. The building exploded and the town came to watch. In the aftermath, the city went to the rubble like they were storming the field after a .
