Remember Demolition Weekend? Well, this is part two of that storied weekend. We already saw what happened to the iconic ASARCO stacks on Saturday, April 13. Today we’re going to see what went down the following day.
But first some crediting. I did not take the following aerial photographs. I left that task up to Ursula, who would have the best seat in the house for viewing this demolition. I had acquired for her as a birthday gift a ride aboard a Robinson R44 helicopter. As it turned out, this flight became a Girls’ Day Adventure, for not only was the pilot female (Deb Rothchild of Helicopters Anonymous), so too were the other two passengers riding along with Ursula. One of those two passengers filmed the demolition for local T.V. station 7 KVIA.
Being in a moving helicopter, Ursula did as best she could to capture the action. Alas, the R44 was in a turn at the precise time the demolition charges detonated. Even so, she managed some spectacular shots not only of the City Hall going down, but also of El Paso’s downtown area.
-
- Deb Preparing for Flight
-
- Texas Dept. of Public Safety Heading Toward Downtown
-
- Heading Toward Downtown
-
- Downtown Skyline
-
- Downtown Skyline
-
- Winds Catches the Dust
-
- City Hall
-
- City Hall Before the Blast
-
- Seconds after the Detonation
-
- A Cloud of Dust Forms
-
- Plaza Hotel — The World’s First Hilton
-
- County Court House Reflecting its Surroundings
-
- A Pile of Ruble
-
- El Paso City Hall in Ruins
-
- The Spaghetti Bowl on the Return Flight
-
- Pilot Deb Rothchild
-
- Girls’ Day Out
Decisions — Murder in Paradise
The Globe — Murder in Luxury
R. Doug Wicker — Author 