Americana: Demolition Derby

A lyric from the score of The Unsinkable Molly Brown—"Nobody wants me down like I wants me up"—had special meaning last week along the waterfront in Mobile, Ala. To make way for a $15 million port expansion, the city fathers decided to demolish a five-story riverfront warehouse. A TV crew was invited to watch the fun as engineers planted 150 Ibs. of dynamite around the foundation. Then a mighty roar and a cloud of dust—but only the first floor was blown out. The rest dropped onto the foundation intact. The next day workmen tried...

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