At 8:44 AM, on Saturday, July 8, 2000, the Hollander Ridge Apartment building was ringed with thousands of spectators awaiting the final countdown that would mark the end of its existence in a spectacular implosion that would reduce the towering structure to a pile of rubble.

 Hollander Ridge, the last federally subsidized high-rise project built in the city, was the fourth of six implosions that have been dramatically altering the face of public housing in Baltimore. 

On the city's eastern border between Interstate 95 and Pulaski Highway, the 1,000-unit project had been the focus of contention between public officials and residents for years.  There were mixed emotions in the hearts of the onlookers as the final 60 seconds of the structure was ticking away. 

There were 92 other buildings in the community complex that, along with the high-rise, housed over 4000 people.  Nothing remained of the other residences except piles of rubble awaiting processing and removal from the project site.  The only structures remaining were the apartment tower and the gymnasium at its base. 

The 59-acre site is going to be rebuilt as Arbor Springs Village, a 450-unit development of affordable senior housing.   This project is an ongoing part of a series of public housing revitalizations transforming the high-rise, high-density apartment complexes that became popular in the 1950s into lower-density developments for owners with a wider range of incomes.

On July 6^th, the building was nearly prepared.  Last minute drilling was being finished up in the basement.  Following the successful test blast, Dykon’s men began loading the explosives into the columns that supported the Hollander Ridge Apartment Highrise.  There were a total of 1166 holes loaded with 403 pounds of explosives into 57 load bearing columns.  On July 7^th, with the implosion scheduled on the following morning, the building was drilled, prepped, loaded, and was ready to go.

The implosion of the highrise was initially scheduled for 8:00 AM, but several overly enthusiastic spectators had slipped into the trees bordering the jobsite directly in front of the highrise in hopes of getting a good seat for the show.  The shot was delayed while the local police directed the spectators from the area  to a safer vantage point. 

The countdown was coordinated over the police radios.  Several sirens were heard at once marking the one minute countdown to demolition.  Dykon  President Jim Redyke paced nervously back and forth at the entrance gate to the project.  Jared Redyke manned the two blasting machines required to initiate the 1166 charges that would soon guide the 20-story highrise to the ground. 

Thousands of spectators waited breathlessly as Jim’s voice was heard over multiple loudspeakers, counting down the last 10 seconds in the life of a building that was home for so many.  The word “FIRE” was heard throughout the community, then, instantly followed by the thundering boom of the first of 15 detonations designed to safely and efficiently turn the huge apartment complex to a pile of rubble ready to be recycled.

Download a Video Clip of the
Hollander Ridge Implosion

The article above as published in 
Demolition Magazine