The Leaning Tower of Dallas Is Too Good for This World

Is this the most Internet famous demolition since a MARTA bus blocked the Georgia Dome implosion in 2017? Probably.

"The Leaning Tower of Dallas was still leaning Monday — but it’s expected to tumble before long," write Nataly Keomoungkhoun and Catherine Marfin.

"After Sunday’s implosion of an 11-story tower on Haskell Avenue near downtown Dallas failed to bring down the center of the structure, the lopsided landmark immediately became an internet sensation," explain Keomoungkhoun and Marfin for context. "As video of the partial collapse spread, people began posting pictures of themselves pretending to prop up what remained of the former Affiliated Computer Services building."

The news of the buildings predicament spread as far as Houston, where the Houston Chronicle picked up Associated Press coverage of the viral sensation.

Back in Dallas, Dallas Morning News architecture critic Mark Lamster devoted serious intellectual effort to excavating a narrative from the wreckage. "Project onto it whatever Dallas narrative you like," writes Lamster.

It’s a symbol of our demolition culture and disrespect for history. It’s a testament to private sector incompetence (I mean, seriously) and public sector negligence (who allowed this to go down, or not go down, in the first place). It is a testament to our collective hubris, a rejoinder to the greed that permits rampantly unchecked and aesthetically blighted development, a mark of the environmental depravity that culture perpetuates. Oof.

Deep thoughts and pictures previously only possible in Italy will soon be a thing of the past, however, as demolition crews have spent the week smashing the icon with wrecking balls before its inevitable, final demise.