[font=Verdana]The downtown [/font][font=Verdana]La Crosse[/font][font=Verdana] skyline is changing, as wrecking equipment tears into four brick silos nearly a century old.

The former Cargill grain silos on the west side of [/font][font=Verdana]Front Street[/font][font=Verdana] are expected to be leveled by this afternoon for the second phase of the Logistics Health Inc. development.

Demolition began Monday.

The walls of the 80-foot-tall silos are three bricks thick, said Harry Azarian, co-owner of Sam Azarian Wrecking Co. of Racine, [/font][font=Verdana]Wis.[/font][font=Verdana], which was awarded a $237,346 demolition contract by the city. The walls of the brick silos also contain reinforcing steel, he said.

The bricks will be crushed and used for the base of a parking lot being built in the area, Azarian said. He declined to identify the parking lot.

Once the silos are leveled, some demolition work will remain and cleanup work will continue. The entire job probably will be finished in three weeks, Azarian said.

Logistics Health plans to move into its new six-story corporate center along [/font][font=Verdana]South Front Street[/font][font=Verdana] by August. Company Chairman and CEO Don Weber said last month that ground might be broken in early 2007 for a second Logistics Health building that could open in 2008, at the site of the silos that are being demolished this week.

Nine former Cargill grain silos on the east side of [/font][font=Verdana]Front Street[/font][font=Verdana] were demolished last summer for the Logistics Health project