Seminole Twin Towers implosion marks end of era at ASU

May 27, 2008 -- When Arkansas State University’s Seminole Twin Towers residence hall was demolished by controlled implosion at 7 a.m. Sunday morning, May 25, it went down like the proverbial ton of bricks, marking the end of an era at ASU. The implosion, lasting 15 seconds, took down the building at 100 South Driver in a cloud of rubble and dust, as though an occult hand had clutched and then crumbled the building into the slowly roiling cloud mass.



For more than 40 years, the landmark men’s residence hall, designed by Stuck, Frier, Lane and Scott Architects of Jonesboro, dominated the ASU skyline. The nine-story Twin Towers was the tallest structure on campus, boasting a capacity of 1,129 students in 175,204 square feet. Built in 1967, it was occupied and in use as a residence hall until 2006, and its subsequent use in 2006-2007 was as a training site for police and firefighters.

More than 1,000 people were on hand to watch the implosion, and media coverage included photographers, videographers, television crews, implosion sound recording, and aerial photography and videography.



Lance Weaver, a 2008 ASU graduate from Marion, Ark., who lived in Twin Towers and served as a resident assistant there for two years, said, “It was awesome!  It’s kind of sad to see it come down. I have some great memories from living in Twin Towers. It was fun. But, it’s time for it to come down and make way for something new for the campus. Hearing the blast and seeing the building fall straight down like that was really something to see and remember.”

Markham Howe, director of University Relations, said, “The implosion went very smoothly, due to the coordinated efforts of many at ASU and in the wider community, including Terry Carty, ASU Facilities Management, D. A. Davis, Environmental Health and Safety, and members of their staffs, along with representatives of the University Police Department, the Jonesboro Police Department, the Jonesboro Fire Department, and other emergency services.”

Doug Loizeaux, vice president of Controlled Demolition, Inc., of Phoenix, Maryland, was sub-contractor for the implosion, and Ricky Chandler, of Chandler Demolition of Memphis, had done preparatory work and will oversee debris removal, which is expected to take 2-3 months. The site will be used as campus green space and is immediately west of the proposed site for the new Student Recreation and Wellness Center.
 

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