Houston Main Building Implosion

The Houston Main Building (HMB) was opened by Prudential Insurance Co. in 1952 as its southwest regional office. At the time, the 20-story office building was Houston's tallest building outside downtown. In 1974, MD Anderson purchased the 500,000-square-foot facility, which included 22.4 acres of land and a surface lot containing hundreds of parking spaces. The University of Texas officially named the building the Houston Main Building in 1980.

The acquisition of the building allowed executive and other administrative offices to move from the hospital to HMB to accommodate the expansion of clinical space. Over the years, MD Anderson updated and renovated some floors to support specific functions, and the expansive parking area was used for new construction.

The building was differentially sinking one side at a time, cracking the foundation and the exterior limestone and granite.

After much discussion and many feasibility studies conducted by outside consultants, it was determined that renovation and repair of HMB would be more costly than demolition and construction of a newer, updated facility designed around MD Anderson's mission and goals.

The last employees moved out of HMB March 2010; the building was officially closed April 1, 2010.

It was imploded on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012.

• Category

  Science & Technology

[djrage70]

MD Anderson. Making another piece of Houston history... history

[David Lege]

The end of an era! I never worked in this building but I gave some lectures and visited many offices here over almost twenty years at MD Anderson. The engineers who brought it down seem to have planned it perfectly.

[rinceresource]

now, if they could only do that to the old complex. too many highrises.

[Bret Johnson]

You idiot! There was no asbestos in the air. And you're probably too stupid to understand the logo.

[RichardDJLilD]

Looks like 9/11

[JKW1957]

A part of my personal history gone. I went to nursing school there 1979-1981. UTHSC. I saw them working on it months ahead of time from MD Anderson Office building, where my mother is a patient.

[goldenthroat86]

Houston was an inside job!

[genine s]

If I was driving that road and didn't have any clue what was going on I would be liek !#$%

[15CINGIZ]

fuk

[SulloLaw]

FDA to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus.