Failed building demolition creates the ‘leaning tower of Dallas’

300 pounds of dynamite couldn’t topple the concrete and steel core of the former Affiliated Computer Services tower.

The building was supposed to come down Sunday morning, but a failed demolition left it with a distinctive tilt — and nickname: “the leaning tower of Dallas.”

The implosion by Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition was part of The Central, a 27-acre, $2.5 billion development project that will bring an office building, a hotel, eateries and other amenities to an area just north of downtown Dallas, The Dallas Morning News reported.

But nearly 300 pounds of dynamite wasn’t enough to topple the old building on the development site, said Steve Pettigrew, president of Pettigrew Inc., a company involved in the demolition.

Pettigrew blamed timing, saying the building, which has a concrete and steel core, “undressed itself” too quickly during the implosion, Pettigrew said.

“The skirt came off the core,” he said.

The middle core of the former Affiliated Computer Services tower remained standing with a bit of a lean Sunday night, Feb. 16, 2020, after an implosion didn’t go as planned.NBC DFW

What was left is 35 feet shorter and listing at 15 degrees, Pettigrew said. The remaining structure — which a Lloyd D. Nabors spokesperson said is “safely contained” within the job site — will be demolished later with a crane and a wrecking ball, Pettigrew said.

In the meantime, a slew of comical photos showed people in the distance pretending to lift up — or push over — the leaning tower.

LLoyd Nabors demolition said they will bring it down next weeek