‘Leaning Tower of Dallas’ demolition with tiny wrecking ball captivates thousands online
DALLAS - “The Leaning Tower of Dallas,” a partially destroyed building that Dallas residents have labeled an eyesore, amassed a viral cult following Monday after avoiding complete destruction Monday when a demolition crew failed to topple it with a seemingly too-small wrecking ball.
A live stream that featured a behemoth of a crane showing up to the building’s site with a relatively tiny wrecking ball chipping away at the facade racked up millions of views on social media.
Dozens of locals gathered to watch the undersized wrecking ball struggle to finish the job, as the stubborn and deformed tower held its ground.
The wrecking ball soon became the butt of the joke, as its comparative size proved to be no match for the stubborn landmark.
One person posted a video on Twitter mocking the wrecking ball with a caption that read, “The Leaning Tower of Dallas welcomes your futile attempts to topple it.”
What was originally supposed to take just a few hours is now likely to take several days, officials said.
The 11-story building gained notoriety after surviving a first demolition attempt in which the core of the building remained standing after an implosion intended to level the building delivered lackluster results.
Lloyd Nabors, whose company is handling the demolition, previously said the tower was leaning in the direction it was intended to fall, and there aren’t any safety concerns. The building is being demolished to make way for a $2.5 billion mixed-use project.
Dozens of locals gathered to watch the undersized wrecking ball struggle to finish the job, as the stubborn and deformed tower held its ground. (Fox 4)
As demolition work took place, an online petition to “save this landmark from destruction” continued to draw signatures.
The company that engineered the blast said some explosives did not go off. In the following week, people flocked to the site to post photos of themselves pretending to prop up the lopsided tower.
One Twitter user mocked the tower’s resilience, writing, “Oops, an implosion masterpiece!!” Another asked, “Who needs Pisa? We have the Leaning Tower of Dallas.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.