Video: CDI imploded former headquarters of Bethlehem Steel

In its time, Bethlehem Steel was the second-largest steel producer in the U.S., providing the steel for landmark projects including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building.


Controlled Demolition Inc. (CDI), Phoenix, Maryland, imploded Martin Tower May 19. Martin Tower is the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based former headquarters of Bethlehem Steel.

Standing 21 stories tall, the 47-year-old tower yielded nearly 16,000 tons of structural steel and 6,500 cubic yards of concrete upon its collapse, The Morning Call reports.

In its time, Bethlehem Steel was the second-largest steel producer in the U.S., providing the steel for landmark projects including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building. In 2001, the company filed for bankruptcy and the company’s assets were dissolved in 2003.

“It was better than the Fourth of July,” Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez told The Morning Call. “Everything went down the way the contractors said it would. It collapsed in its own footprint. It was fascinating to watch something that took three years to build be gone in seconds."

The implosion will make way for both commercial and residential properties.

Watch the video of the implosion below, courtesy of CDI: