The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is a world-famous monument with its 4° lean, which is said to be due to an unstable foundation. Dallas recently got its own leaning tower after a demolition attempt on a building ended up in failure, leaving the core of the structure tilting to its side.
The Leaning Tower of Dallas
The demolition was done by Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition. Almost 300 pounds of dynamite was used for the implosion. However, all that firepower proved to be not enough to bring down the entire building, which apparently has a concrete and steel core. According to Lloyd Nabors, the core of a building can be a tough thing to overcome during a demolition. Since partial implosions are sometimes an occurrence, the company isn’t too worried and will soon be giving another try at bringing down the structure.
What was left of the 11-story tower near downtown Dallas was tilting at 15 degrees after the first demolition attempt. As word of the tilting building spread across local media and the Internet, people flocked to the site to take photos. The building soon became popularly known online as the “Leaning Tower of Dallas.”
A petition was started at Change.Org, demanding that the building be saved from demolition, jokingly adding that it be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Demolition is being carried out to clear the area for a new development project. After all the structures are brought down, it will take a few years for the construction of the new buildings to be completed on the 30-acre site.
Once demolition has been completed, the construction of new buildings will begin on the 30-acre site. (Image: Screenshot via YouTube)
“Called The Central, the huge development would have 5 million square feet of office, residential, hospitality, food and beverage, entertainment, and retail. A 3.5-acre park will sit in the middle of the project. Plans for the first phase of The Central include a 17-story office building, a 320-unit apartment high-rise, a 430-unit apartment project by JPI, a 300-room full-service hotel and a 150-room limited-service hotel. There will also be 110,000 square feet of eateries and entertainment space,” according to The Dallas Morning News.
Famous leaning towers
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is not the only structure in the world famous for its tilt. There are numerous such leaning towers. In Italy itself, there are two leaning towers in the city of Bologna. One of them started slanting around the 14th century as the ground became soft. Both towers have withstood numerous fire hazards, lightning strikes, and even bombing attacks during the Second World War.
Italy has two leaning towers in the city of Bologna. (Image: taver via Flickr)
Big Ben in London is one of the most popular landmarks in the city. The surprising fact is that the tower actually has a slight tilt. It “is tilting at a rate of 0.9 mm annually. The lean is probably due to the several expansions of the London Underground and parking lots around the area. However, engineers are not too worried about the rate of this tilt, since they believe it will take around 4,000 years before it even catches up to the leaning tower of Pisa,” according to Arch2o.
In the Chinese city of Suzhou, the Tiger Hill Pagoda is famous for its tilt. Built in A.D. 960, the structure leans by around 3°. The pagoda slanted over time due to the foundation, which is made up of 50 percent rock and 50 percent soil. Authorities have pumped concrete into the soil, which has helped to prevent further tilting. The pagoda is 154 feet tall.
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