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Going, going ... staying: Zip proves reluctant crasherOld, soft concrete on west side prevented total collapse of towerThe toppling of the Zip Feed tower failed Saturday, turning what was supposed to be a spectacle watched by thousands into a source of amusement for an entire city.The 202-foot tower, the tallest building in Sioux Falls and possibly the state, was scheduled to topple at 12:55 p.m. But after a loud blast it tilted east, slumped into the ground and stuck.Many in the crowd of more than 200 that gathered at Kilian College gasped when the blast went off, then held their breath as the tower leaned and stopped. And they held their breath some more. Slowly, anticipation turned to confusion and, in less than a minute, to laughter at the mishap nobody had prepared them for.One of the few people not smiling was Jim Redyke, who supervised the explosion for Dykon Explosive Demolition of Tulsa, Okla.He said the tower didn't fall because the concrete on the west side did not remain stiff. Instead of cutting a wedge out of the east side, the explosion collapsed both sides as well as the basement foundation, leaving the building stuck like a cork in a bottle."What you count on with these things is stiffness in the frame of the mechanism to push it over center," he said.He said there was nothing that could have been done to prevent the noncollapse; the concrete was apparently too old to maintain its integrity after the blast. Old concrete structures such as the tower are "the toughest structures there are" to demolish with explosives, he said.Henry Carlson Co. project manager and lead contractor Eric Schuler said the plan now is to demolish the tower with a wrecking ball, a process that will start in about four days and will take two to three weeks.Before the blast, Mayor Dave Munson had called it "a great day to take down a building. After the fizzle, he was amused like everyone else but also a bit downcast."It is disappointing because we were really looking at the landscape changing that way, but now it's just going to be unsightly," he said.He said he was not worried that the failure would be a symbol for the fate of the Big Sioux River's east bank, which owners plan to redevelop. It is also a possible site for a $79 million events center."The progress is still going to happen, it's just going to take a few more weeks," he said.As for the failed demolition, "I was really surprised by it," he said. "We were really pretty much assured it was going to come down."Redyke said he worried from the start the old concrete would not stand up to the blast, even on the west side of the buildings where there were no explosives."The basement foundation and all that collapsed and didn't allow it to push over. That was my fear."But Jim Wutzke of Frattalone Cos., the St. Paul contractor in charge of the demolition, played down the chance of failure in an interview last month."There is always a chance, but there is a chance I could win the lottery too," he said. "No, this one here is a slam dunk. This is about as easy as they come."On Saturday, he said he was not embarrassed by the result."We're not pleased with the outcome. I mean, I've been in this business long enough that you're never really embarrassed by anything," he said. "Stuff like this does happen; it's not unheard of."It came down, the hinge collapsed and she sat into the base. It was not the outcome we wanted, but we're prepared to deal with it and we'll deal with it."The day began with a light snow. It was cold but without the punishing South Dakota wind that could have made it miserable.Around 12:30 p.m., Munson, former Mayor Rick Knobe and event organizer Jeff Scherschligt gathered on a podium outside Kilian College to rev up the crowd.Jed Huisman, a Garretson finance officer who has multiple sclerosis, was poised to push the button. It was one of many viewing parties to raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Dakota chapter.Knobe was on his game, getting big laughs at the tower's expense."Today it's the tallest building in Sioux Falls. Tonight, it'll be the shortest building in Sioux Falls," he quipped.Then there was a siren, and the crowd counted down, then there was the promised BOOM! and the pause. And then, of course, the realization that it's not coming down.Knobe got on the microphone with the obligatory "leaning tower of Zip" joke, but by then, everyone was a comedian.By 1:30, folks had already started posing with their arms out and the tower in the background, to create the illusion that they were holding it up.Within a few minutes of the blast, contractors in fluorescent yellow vests and hard hats ambled across Sixth Street toward the tower. Some were confident enough to walk underneath it, on the leaning side.The group returned, including Redyke, who found Scherschligt, the organizer."I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry for you, I'm sorry for your show, but that's life.""It's not the end of the world; nobody got hurt," Scherschligt said.By evening, he was already discovering the bright side."It's the leaning tower of Zip. It's probably going to get picked up nationally," he said."I've seen people at parties saying, 'How do we make it positive?' " he said. "You can laugh at it, but if you're all looking at it, help us in what we do. MS is a terrible disease, and tough to demolish. ... Help us, that's all I'm asking."The link below is the footage of what was supposed to be the big explosion. http://www.argusleader.com/(removed)...3.WMV

This has been a huge deal in our town for weeks. The guy who owns it--his daughter has MS, so they decided to make it a fundraiser for the South Dakota MS Chapter--they had tents up and parties, and in most places you had to pay to get in. They sold raffle tickets to be the one to push the button that would detonate the explosion. It's ALL we've heard about here for about a month. So the big moment came, and the building, which is made of solid concrete--didn't fall. So now it's the big joke.

Ha, Ha, Ha! That would have been funny to see.Time to bring in the wrecking ball.

That's what they are doing! It's coming from up in your town--HUGE crane should be here by tomorrow or Thursday, with a day to set it up, and they should start knocking it down with a wrecking ball by Friday morning!

now everyone can come over and watch the wrecking ball take a swing.

Yup--you've got plenty of time. They say it could take up to 3 weeks to do it that way...but I'll get to watch--the building I work at is literally about a thousand feet away, just across the river from it. So I guess we'll get to see them chipping away at it. What a big FUBAR that turned out to be! And the guy who was going to blow it up kept saying what a "slam dunk" this would be--very easy, textbook, not much could go wrong. Uh-huh...bet he's full now from eating his words!

What's funny is i remember seeing that as one of the last things i saw before i left for the army. Sioux Falls was where my Military Entry Processing Station was.

Yes, at a whopping 205 (I think) feet, it's argued that it's the tallest building in South Dakota. Wrecking ball should be here today, so by Friday I will probably be listening to the pounding for the next 2-3 weeks.

Quote, originally posted by rebbierae »One of the few people not smiling was Jim Redyke, who supervised the explosion for Dykon Explosive Demolition of Tulsa, Okla.That was the city's biggest mistake, not going with the best demolition company in the nation - CDI. http://www.controlled-demolition.com

Ahh, so apparently Sioux Falls didn't do it's research first, huh? I guess we learned for next time, although I can't think of any more big buildings that need to be blown up around here.

Quote, originally posted by rebbierae »Yes, at a whopping 205 (I think) feet, it's argued that it's the tallest building in South Dakota. Wrecking ball should be here today, so by Friday I will probably be listening to the pounding for the next 2-3 weeks. Thats a pretty funny video. never sen a demolition fail like that before.its not the tallest structure though!! there are a handful of TV/RAIDO towers that approach 2,000 ft.

It was pretty funny, and I didn't even see it in person. But the funniest part was that it was turned into this big event--there were supposedly hundreds to thousands of people there to witness it--and then it failed. To me that was the best part of it.