October 27, 2013: Demolition of Sappi (the old S.D. Warren Paper Company)

Both my mom and I were looking forward to seeing part of the Sappi Building demolished, with the use of explosives. I had read in the Muskegon Chronicle that the best spot to see it was on Edgewater St, so we got there around 9 a.m. It was in the 30's outside, so pretty cold. One of the Muskegon Chronicle photographers, Natalie, was down there setting up her cameras to capture the big event. Mom found a rock to sit on and I found one nearby. Here is what was posted on Mlive regarding the momentous occasion. "With a thud that hit in the middle of your stomach, the former Sappi paper mill power plant came tumbling down Sunday morning apparently without a hitch. The son of property owner Doug Melching and sons of Trinity Industrial Services Tom Frost pushed the plunger down about 10:40 a.m. to set off the explosions that brought down the 10-story, 200-foot industrial building. Within a matter of seconds the steel structure was lying crumpled, falling to the north just as the Melching demolition team had planned. The event was witnessed by several hundred on site and thousands more to the west and east of the site at 2400 Lakeshore Drive. Within several minutes the big black cloud of smoke and dust had cleared and the Melching team began to inspect the area with Muskegon police and fire officials. “We are going to bring this down with one mighty boom,” a Trinity crew member said over the radio before the 10-second countdown began. “Let’s keep everyone safe.” Initial reports are that the nearby Habs Good Eats n’ Treats at 2445 Lakeshore Drive is fine. Houses are being checked, with a cracked window reported so far." After the building came down, we drove closer to the demolition site, in order to get a better look at it. It was pretty impressive. Lakeshore Dr. from McCracken to Cottage Grove was closed, so we weren't able to walk around there. Then, we stopped at Tim Hortons for hot chocolate and donut holes to celebrate the big day.