Neighbors and former residents of the 16-story Queen Lane Apartment building in the Germantown section of Philadelphia were happy to see the structure deliberately collapsed the morning of September 13, 2014, in a scene eerily reminiscent of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in a terrorist attack 13 years ago, practically to the day.
Once sparkling new and desirable, over time the apartment complex became beset by drugs, crime and disrepair and sat vacant the last few years. The remaining residents were relocated and the playground fenced off.
At 7:25 am, a succession several large bangs from ignited caches of dynamite strategically planted on the 1st 4th and 10th floors, preceded the collapse of the building and it was over within 15 seconds
Bystanders outside the cordoned off evacuation and dust zones cheered as a large cloud of brown dust billowed up from the rubble, paving the way for the Philadelphia Housing Authority to construct some 50 rental apartments surrounding a green space.
