Downtown Dallas Building Disappears

Implosion brings down 88-year-old Thomas Building

There was not a lot of sentimentality on display in a parking lot about 100 yards from the Thomas Building in Downtown Dallas.  We did coax this out of Debbie Mabry of Bristol.

"A little sad to see another old building going down," said Mabry, who grew up in Dallas.

But the real reason she and her husband drove in from Bristol was to see something cool.

"We said 'let's jump in the car and come up here and see what it feels like to feel an implosion, our first one," said Brian Mabry.  "We've been together 35 years and this is our first implosion together."

While people flocked to see the Thomas Building come down, we wondered if anyone knew anything about it.

"We don't know much of anything (about it's history)," said  Jeff Jerome.

Friend Meagen Anderson added, "I would assume it's somewhat old and historical."

The building started as offices for people in the cotton business in the 1920s across from the old Cotton Exchange which left us a few years ago much the same way the Thomas Building did at 10 o'clock Sunday morning.

Eight-year-old Dakota Price couldn't hide his excitement.

"Ohhhh yeaaaah," he said before I could even ask him a question.  "It just fell straight down," said Price.  "I heard a couple of booms then didn't see anything, then it just fell straight down!"

It took about 12 seconds, just like the folks at Dallas Demolition said it would.

A parking lot will replace the old building, at least for now.

That did not excite Brian and Debbie Mabry, the Bristol couple.

"Ohhh," said Brian.  "That's no good," said Debbie at the same time.

"Like the song, like the song," said Brian.  "Paving paradise for a parking lot."

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