Video: Atlanta’s State Archives implosion rocks downtown

As dawn broke Sunday, the stark white walls of the State Archives building at the junction of Interstate 20 and Interstate 75/85 reflected the morning sun for the last time.

Thousands of onlookers—scattered across parking decks, bridges, and clearings surrounding the exclusion zone—cheered as sharp blasts shattered the quiet of the morning, and the long-awaited implosion of the midcentury “White Ice Cube” complex came to pass.

In remarks before the implosion, Gov. Nathan Deal noted the building ceased to serve as an archive more than a decade ago, but it’s since hosted countless movie crews, generating a surprising economic impact of more than $1 billion.

The most dramatic scene for the building, however, was yet to come...

A few orange flares of fire were seen before dust began to billow from the parking deck of the structure, moving across the plaza in front of the building. And then the tower crumbled from north to south.

As the building came down, a large fireball sprung from the subterranean portion of the complex.

It was all over in a few seconds, and the dust and debris cloud drifted quickly northward, across the interstate and toward many watching the implosion—including the governor and VIPs. It didn’t take long for the area to clear out.

Grid View

• Governor Deal makes remarks before the implosion. Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• The final moment of calm. Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• The first flash of the explosives. Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• The dust begins to spread. Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• The dust cloud over the Capitol. Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta
• The dust cloud moving toward reporters. Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta

Once the site is cleared of rubble, construction could start on a new State Judicial Complex, anchoring the revitalization of Memorial Drive.

Here’s a video, courtesy of Zach Pion:

• Downtown Atlanta Archives demo moves forward for $105M complex [Curbed]