Iconic Buildings That Were Totally Demolished

Opened: 1923
Demolished: March 2009 to May 2010
Est. Construction Cost: $2.4 Million* ($39.8 Million in 2022 Dollars)

In 1923, the stadium that Jacob Ruppert (the then owner of the New York Yankees) had paid $2.4 million for (out of his own pocket) opened. Over the next eight decades, the stadium was home to all-time baseball greats like Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Roger Maris, Derek Jeter, and countless others. 26 World Series banners were hung from the stadium’s rafters at the end of its run. 

Yankee Stadium - New York @National Geographic/Youtube

Following the conclusion of the New York Yankees’ 2008 season, after 85 years of hosting MLB and NFL games, various concerts, conferences, presidential rallies, and dozens of other types of events, New Yorkers bid their final farewell to “The House That Ruth Built.”

Opened: 1898
Demolished: N/A
Est. Construction Cost: Unknown*

The Call Building in San Francisco was not demolished per se. Rather, after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, a fire nearly consumed the entire structure. Its foundation was left standing, however, and the building was refurbished to the point where it looked like a brand new building — and was subsequently given a new name. 

The Call Building - @JackStewartCham | @RebelMetropolis/Twitter

Originally standing 315-feet-tall and decorated with a baroque dome, when its renovations were completed in 1938, the newly named Spreckles Building no longer had its identifiable dome, nor did it still top 300-feet in height (it now stood at 299 feet). 

Opened: 1984
Demolished: 2021
Est. Construction Cost: Unknown

In 1984, the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was just a hotel when it first opened. It wasn’t until 5-years-later that the casino was added to the property’s repertoire. After experiencing some early gains in Atlantic City, the Trump Plaza hit a pretty hard wall in the 2000s and closed for good in September 2014.

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino - Atlantic City @BeschlossDC/Twitter

The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was initially slated to be demolished during Q2 of 2018. A few passed deadlines, and a couple of years later, Trump Plaza was still standing, but not for long. As a result of debris falling from the hotel/casino’s ceiling, the building was deemed a danger to public safety, and on February 17th, 2021, The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was imploded.

Opened: 1974
Demolished: 2007-2011
Est. Construction Cost: $120 Million*

Formerly named Bankers Trust Plaza, but known as the Deutsche Bank Building at the time of its demise, this skyscraper was designed by the same firm that designed the Empire State Building. Having been located next to the former Trade Center (when the attacks of 9/11 took place), the Deutsche Bank Building was contaminated with numerous dangerous substances and was deemed unfit for occupancy from the date of the attacks.

Deutsche Bank Building - New York City @Historical_Pht/Twitter

Half a decade after the disaster that caused irreparable damage, the decision was made to demolish the . It took only two years to construct the 39-story building but almost four years to take it down. 

Opened: 1910
Demolished: 1963 to 1968
Est. Construction Cost: $100 Million*

When New York’s Pennsylvania Station opened in 1910, it became the first station to host a direct line that connected the southern States to New York. After the Second World War ended, there was a noticeable decline in commuters. By the end of the 50s, the Pennsylvania Railroad made the tough decision to downsize the station’s size by selling the space above ground. 

Penn Station - New York City ©Peter K. Levy/Flickr

The demolition of the non-subterranean parts of the station took place between 1963 and 1968. During that time, a restoration project (that took around six years to complete) took place over the subsequent six years and culminated with the opening of the new “modern” Penn Station.

Opened: 1957
Demolished: 2006
Est. Construction Cost: $6 Million* ($60.5 Million in 2022 Dollars)

Designed by the Preston M. Geren & Associates architecture firm, the Landmark Tower, formerly located at 200 West 7th Street in Fort Worth, Texas, was built between 1950 and 1957. At the time, the Landmark Tower was the city’s tallest building and cost approximately $6 million to construct, but it was abandoned in 1990 — just 33 years after completion.

@calcalist.co.il | unknown/cardcow.com

In 2004, XTO Energy purchased the property with hopes of refurbishing it. In the end, the $62 million that it would have cost in order to do so was too much. Alternatively, the 30-floor tower that had remained idle for more than 15 years in central Forth Worth was demolished in 2006.

Opened: 1954
Demolished: 1972 to 1976
Est. Construction Cost: $36 Million*

Built using federal money, the 33-story high-rise building of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project was erected in order to provide better living conditions than one would have found in the slums. However, due to the poor management and maintenance of the project, it took less than 20 years for the conditions of the buildings to resemble the slums they were intended to replace.

Pruitt-Igoe - St. Louis, Missouri @Ian G/Youtube

The demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe projects took place in a few stages. The first of which was during a live television broadcast in 1972, in which a handful of the 11-story building was brought down via explosives. The remaining housing units were destroyed by the end of 1976.

Opened: April 9, 1913
Demolished: February 23, 1960
Est. Construction Cost: $750,000* ($19.6 Million in 2020 Dollars)

Ebbets Field stood for less than 50 years, but in that time, it was home to five football teams (3 NFL) and one of the most well-known sports franchises of the first half of the 20th century — the Brooklyn Dodgers. As such, Ebbets Field was where Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier.

Ebbets Field - Brooklyn, New York, USA @SportsHistoryGy/Twitter

Money always speaks louder than history when it comes to business, and, although the legendary stadium was riddled with the latter, it was still demolished in 1960 in favor of the former. The aptly named Ebbets Field Apartments were built in its place and later renamed after Jackie Robinson himself.

Opened: N/A
Demolished: 2004 
Est. Construction Cost: Unknown

The story behind the Zhongyin Building in Shenzhen, China’s Futian district, and why the building was demolished without ever opening for business is what some would call an “old wives tale,” if you will. Long story short, the building was erected on a piece of land where executions (at one point) took place regularly.

Zhongyin Building - China @BILLIONS INC/Youtube

Stories of strange things occurring on the grounds ran rampant amongst those working in the area, and a good old-fashioned haunting of lost souls was the only logical explanation anyone could come up with. Whatever the real reason was, after being completed in 1997, Zhongyin building never opened. Instead, it was imploded in 2004.

Opened: 1891
Demolished: 1981 
Est. Construction Cost: $254,000* ($7 Million in 2020 Dollars)

1891 will forever be remembered in Milwaukee as the year the city’s first skyscraper, the Pabst Building, was erected. If the name Pabst sounds familiar, it should. This building’s namesake is the same Pabst that brews Pabst Blue Ribbon and the numerous other beers that come out of the Pabst brewery.

Pabst Building - Milwaukee @UrbanMilwaukee/Twitter

A decade short of its 100th anniversary, and after countless repairs and renovations, it was finally time to say goodbye to the Pabst Building. It was demolished in 1981 and is still the second-tallest building to be razed in Wisconsin’s history. 

Opened: N/A
Demolished: 2020
Est. Construction Cost: $272 Million* (2015)

Meena Plaza I was intended to be a considerable part of the Abu Dhabi skyline’s rapid development in the 2000s. So huge that its design had it taking up more than 2.6 million square-feet of real estate. Building of the Meena Plaza commenced in 2007, and by 2012 the high-rise plaza had been topped-out, but that’s where its progression ended.

Meena Plaza I - Abu Dhabi @Quintus-Quartus/Youtube

After sitting idly by doing nothing but taking up space for almost a decade, the Abu Dhabi authorities finally decided to remove the half-finished project from view. In 2020, Meena Plaza I in Abu Dhabi became the tallest building to be demolished by implosion.

Opened: 1968
Demolished: 2013
Est. Construction Cost: $6.5 Million*

Built in the late-‘60s and opened in 1968, Flint, Michigan’s Genesee Towers were developed by Henry Sender and consisted of 19 floors — eight of which belonged to a parking garage located beneath ten floors of offices. Including its 76-foot antenna spire, the Genesee Towers in Flint, Michigan, was 326-feet-tall. 

Genesee Towers - Flint @SiwekCC/Youtube

By the turn of the millennium, the Genesee Towers was experiencing more maintenance issues than it could keep up with, and in 2007 safety inspectors announced the risk of concrete falling from the building and onto the road below. For the safety of everyone around, the building was demolished in 2013. While it was still standing, the Genesee Towers was the tallest building in Flint — which also made it Flint’s tallest building to be demolished – and demolished by implosion.

Opened: 1972
Demolished: 1999 
Est. Construction Cost: $40 Million*

Designed by Vincent Kling & Associates, construction of the 38-storey One Meridian Plaza began in 1968 and took four years to complete. The $40 million building had an area of 756,000-square-feet and even had not one but two helipads on its rooftop.

One Meridian Plaza - Philadelphia @PHILASACHIEF/Twitter

Due to a fire that broke out inside the building in 1991, One Meridian Plaza’s time in Philly was cut short. It would survive another 8 years before being demolished. Unfortunately, those remaining years were filled with lawsuits and dismay instead of the booming business of which the building had grown accustomed over the years.

Opened: 1908
Demolished: 1968
Est. Construction Cost: $10 Million*

In the early-1900s, the North American real estate scene was going through an evolution of sorts. Buildings were being built faster and taller than ever before, and New York City was at the forefront of it all. Not a decade after the Singer Building took its place amongst the clouds of Manhattan, the 33-storey City Investing Building followed suit and moved in next door.

City Investing Building - New York @dougf24/Twitter

Both the City Investing Building and the neighboring Singer Building were demolished in 1968, partially because they were becoming run down but mainly because the plans for One Liberty Plaza called for more than twice the combined space of the former buildings.