It was by size and location the most iconic structure on Cleveland's east side and. As of 1 a.m. on Feb. 24, it was no more.
That’s when the implosion of what’s left of FirstEnergy's Lake Shore Power Plant took place.
Crews worked for more than a year leading up to this moment on the property located off East 72nd and the Shoreway, a highway it actually pre-dates.
Two-hundred pounds of explosives were used to knock down the 306-foot concrete stack and associated 170-foot boiler building.
The company behind the demolition also carried out a similar implosion of a FirstEnergy plant in Shadyside, Ohio. Before the implosion, Project Manager Mark Vindivich said they have it down to a science.
“They'll take the prints, they'll analyze them, they'll do a plan and then they'll place explosives and diamond cut the concrete in the appropriate places and they'll fall the stack within plus or minus three degrees of their intended target," Vindivich said.
Wondering what will happen to the Lakeshore plant property? Watch this: @WEWS pic.twitter.com/7vvYvYdfdj
— Sarah Phinney (@sarahphinneytv) February 24, 2017
The plant first opened in 1911 to meet the growing city's growing need for electricity, expanding over the next century to occupy much of the 60-acre site off of East 72nd Street. It plant closed in April 2015.
Once the complex is cleared the top two feet of topsoil will be removed and it will be returned to green space until a future use for the site can be determined.
