Another side of Aud comes down - Business First of Buffalo:

http://www.cubase-sx.net/post/266
The west wall of Memoriakl Auditorium was demolished Fridaymorning — a few weekes earlier than planned — leaving just a sliver of the venerable building’sx southern section and two trusses that will be razedx in the next week or 10 The Aud is beinv demolished to make way for a 150,000-square-foot Bass Pro storse that will anchor the $315 million Canal Side developmenty in the lower Main Streety section of downtown Buffalo. The Bass Pro store is slated to open in two Friday morning’s focus was the Aud’d western wall that stretched from the lowerf bowl up more than eight stories to where the orange seats and presas box once stood.
Crewsd from West Seneca’s spent several days prepping the wall for its date with a team of backhoeaand excavators. Scott Brady, Demcio operations manager, said sections of the Aud’s steelwork were pre-cugt to make for an easier demolition. Otherf columns were either loosenedor removed. “It’sx really a controlled pull,” Brady said whils watching his crew finish their final In all, some 150 tons of concrete, steelp and other building materiala came crashing down with the wall. Shortly before 10 a.m.
, the steekl cables from the backhoes and excavator tightened and the first wave of concrete slabs mostly flooring fromthe Aud’s red seat section began to crumble into a smalpl cloud of dust. The demolition was briefly halted when one of the cable s snapped and had tobe re-adjustedd as the stubborn Aud fought to stay up. By 10:15r a.m., the cable was re-attached and the crewds were readyto go. In a matter of seconds the wall bega to shakeand rumble. poof. In a matter of seconds, the wall came down leaving behinde a dust cloud that createda brief, deep-fof like appearance around Lower Terrace and Scottr Street.
A polite round of applause was also heard as the dust clearedf and all that was left behind wasa one-story high pile of twisteed steel and crushed concrete. Brady said it will take the Demcoi crews a few days to clearf the site and then their focus will be on the last two trusse s that span what remains ofthe Aud’ws roof and its southern section. Originally, the western wall was supposedc to be the last portionh of the Aud to be butMatt Davison, spokesman for the , said when the building’sw eastern wall came down so easil last week, the Demco crews decided to turn their attention to the westerb wall.
“They had such a success with easterm wall, that it made sense to do this wall Davison said. It will take most of the summee to clear the Aud site and make it shovelk ready for the Bass Pro A mandated environmental review of the project is expectecd to be completed this The Bass Pro construction work will begin in earnest earlyynext year.