Plans Released As Implosion Approaches

Evansville IN

16 November, 2021

8:01 AM

Description

By John Gibson, WNIN November 16, 2021 Plans are ramping up for the implosion of the 420 Main Building in Downtown Evansville. Crews have been gutting the 51-year-old, 18-story tower at Main and 5th streets for several weeks, preparing it for the controlled collapse on Sunday, November 21st, at 7 a.m. The Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District has issued a map showing a nine-block area that will be off limits during and just after the implosion. It prohibits pedestrians, drivers, and anyone on rooftops, decks, balconies, or parking garages. On-street parking will also be prohibited in the Exclusion Zone. If all goes well, officials expect the area to reopen to most pedestrian and vehicular traffic by noon on the 21st. They urge spectators to watch the implosion on TV or a livestream -- and to stay away from downtown for safety. The former Old National Bank tower has been Evansville's tallest building since 1970. That honor will go to the nearby Fifth Third Bank tower after Sunday's demolition. It's 15 stories tall. A new six-story residential-commercial development is planned for the site of the former Old National tower and the already-demolished Sycamore Building. An Evansville woman remembers her late father as crews prepare to implode the 420 Main Building in Downtown Evansville. An Evansville woman whose late father was instrumental in the development of the 420 Main Street tower says the building's planned demolition has put her in a "nostalgic state." An Evansville attorney who was among the final tenants of the 420 Main building in downtown Evansville will be sad to see it go. The planned implosion of the former Old National Bank tower in Downtown Evansville is less than two months away. WNIN's John Gibson talked to a local real estate broker about the plan. WNIN is the NPR/PBS affiliate in Evansville, Indiana. We serve Southwestern Indiana, Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois from our multimedia facility located on the Ohio River in downtown Evansville. For the past several years, the recognized quality of our local news has placed us among the best small market radio news organizations in the nation.