Thousands Watch Demolition|ABC 13

ABC 13 > News > Local News
» leer el artículo en español

text size: A | A | A

Thousands Watch Demolition

posted 11:30 pm Wed November 19, 2008

reporter: Sarah Bloom posted by: Webteam

tags: implosion • mill • dan river • demolish

Please Upgrade To Flash!

related stories:

Danville, VA - It was a sight to see in Danville Wednesday -- the historic Dan River Dye Mill demolished into a pile of rubble. Hundreds filled the streets, even more watched from home, all trying to get a glimpse of history.

Some looked for the highest point, with the best view. Others squinted through a camera lens. More than a thousand watched it on our website! Few wanted to miss this.

Sheppard Morrison, Watched the Implosion - "It was very poignant just standing there and looking at it one last time and noticing the architecture, noticing the color, the way the sun hit it. It was just -- very moving!"

Moving, they say, because as long as most can remember, the Dan River Dye Mill has graced the Danville skyline.

Tim Hazelwood, Watched the Implosion - "A whole lot of people spent their whole life there."

Robert Stewart, Watched the Implosion - "I just hated to see it go. I mean, I worked there three and a half years and I loved every minute of it."

That's why they, and so many others, lined the streets Wednesday morning, not wanting to miss the chance to say good-bye.

Sheppard - "I was surprised by the loudness of the explosion at the very beginning. And just how visceral it was. I expected it just to be visual, but to have every sense involved was incredible."

Stewart - "I just wanted to see it happen for my own eyes, you know. That way I can go back and tell my grand-younguns and stuff like that what it was like."

Because, they say, when the building came down, so did a big piece of Danville's history. Nobody's said yet what the future of the site is. But for now, we're told the owners plan to level it, and plant grass.

Email To A Friend

Want Gift Cards From Local Businesses? Click Here!

Talkback: Thousands Watch Demolition

orkin

8:57 pm on 11/19/08

What a waste...Why take down both smokestacks which had been there over a hundred year...the red brick one was awesome..take down the old buildings thats fine ..rebuild something new there like a YMCA-YWCA or create a park ...what a beautiful backdrop the red brick stack would have been..kids for years would grow up seeing it...Danville has the greatest natural resource running through the middle of town why is it not being utilized...if Danville had any local leadership instead of a bunch of outsiders running things making their big salaries the city wouldnt be in the shape it is today...I have a good mine to move to the county ...if the minority of tax payers were to move to the county and the 60+% of welfare recipients who dont pay taxes were left the city would go bankrupt...the city always boast about how many jobs they bring..most arent here, they are just projections..look at all the businesses that have come here in the last few years that have laid off or gone out of business.,the city has NO vision to the future.

» report abuse

You need to be a registered member of
ABC 13 to leave comments on news stories.

Not a member yet? Click Here to sign up.

Please leave your comments below:

Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or advertising content or inappropriate links may be removed and may result in the loss of your posting privileges. Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly. Never assume that you are completely anonymous and cannot be identified by your posts.

The 'RUNNING MAN' icon is a registered trademark of America Online, Inc.