This picture is just about an hour after the fall of Warren Hall, a dilapidated 13-story hall that for many years became a Hayward, California landmark. If you want to know where this is, it is near 26403 Whitman Street: (Tall building in hills is the razed building: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=2640.....p=12,46.7,,0,0 ) Warren Hall is no more now because it was dangerously close to the Hayward Seismic Fault Line, and it was WAY past its time. This building was part of the Cal State University-East Bay campus-it is situated on a hill and was established in 1957 as an administration and admissions building. Robert Warren, grandson of E. Guy Warren, who lobbied and founded the university, says that if his grandfather were alive, he would be upset that the hall named in his honor was not razed earlier. President Leroy Morishita had finally decided to do so.
In my experience, I was unable to attend the implosion staging area in a shopping center that was held at the foot of the hill. Despite that it would take 5-10 minutes on city streets to go to that shopping center on a clear day, it took me 30-40 minutes to arrive there that day-it was a LONG line! I was about a half a mile when I heard it implode at 9:00, my time (At UTC, it was 16:00.) From my ears, it sounded like either a loud hot rod motorcycle with more bass, or a big rig truck with more bass. I would never have made it to the place because, from one eyewitness, it was already full at around an hour before the implosion- I woke up at 7:45 PDT and left at 8:20. Additionally, I have heard that it was close to 1500-2000 attendees seeing the building cave in on itself- it was that special. I’m sure that there were more surrounding the campus! Also, there were free pastries served as breakfast-the servers said that they were cleaned out 40 minutes before Warren Hall “died.” Speaking of food, The nearby McDonald's was packed to capacity and was raking in profits for the day since it was so special, and K-Mart (International furs, if you don't know the store: www.kmart.com) was bustling due to this event.
There were accounts of people hearing thunder when it was demolished. Some who had a good view away from the parking lot saw the tumble, but the sound of the implosion was heard at least five seconds after the actual (visual) implosion. How it was imploded was that its floors “pancaked” on itself, however, if you see it, the building did not go straight down- it slanted to the west because there were buildings close by on its east. There was also a view of a straight line of fire going up the building-it is the denotation. After the dust cleared, there were still remnants of the hall; one could see the top of the hall, but the demolition crew immediately went to work to clear the rubble. Reason why it imploded was because school was starting on the 23rd of August and it was cheaper and quicker to use dynamite in order to get rid of it.
The demolition had significance to seismologists because not only was the hall close to a quarter mile away, the hall caving in on itself would duplicate what a 2.0 magnitude earthquake would do. Heard that there were soft and hard rocks in the area, and they could bounce the energy to other nearby faults, like the notable San Andreas that splits California in two. The seismologists are looking to see if the ground is like Jell-o gelatin. It will take some months to study, and they were strict about planes flying over the area, including helicopters because they want no outside forces to harm the area of study. I hope to see the results as the fault line that starts from San Jose and ends at the small city of Pinole (around 60 miles or 95 kilometers long) is overdue for a big quake. The Loma Prieta Quake on the San Andreas (or cheesily, “The World Series Quake” that occurred on my father’s birthday of 1989) may have put pressure on the Hayward Fault. My house, which was ironically, close to the Hayward Fault Line, was about 2 miles away from the demolition. Once the scientists finish their studies, I will decide if I should be bequeathed the house I am living in now and live in it with my future family. Otherwise, I can rent or sell because it is a very old house, I think built in the 1950’s. It survived the Loma Prieta, but the upcoming one, it will not survive-for sure. My family did not feel anything, but they did hear the crash.
What I am very happy to see and hear is that the national news had covered the demolition on radio and on TV. I was joyful to hear CBS and ABC on radio. I was pleased to see later on the national TV news covered the demolition. It gives something a resident of Hayward to be proud about as it gives the 1/7 million inhabitant city in California, not the smaller one in Wisconsin, more recognition.
So the landmark of Hayward is no more, but there is a Warren Avenue to extend the legacy of E. Guy Warren. Now, I will say that it is nothing like the New York World Trade Center collapse- Warren Hall collapsing is a demolition, NOT a destruction (nuance). If you have to maneuver through the city and you are out of the region, you have one less landmark, and Hayward’s (and even SF Bay Area’s) skyline has been changed for good. However, I would like it if they could demolish this building too as it is close to the fault also-it is discrepit and nobody is using it-it is the old Hayward City Hall: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Center_Building Now it feels tlike I am in a small town setting whenever I drive down the state route, but I will get used to it and enjoy the new view of Hayward. It is not over yet, I hope to attend the implosion of the American football team SF 49ers’ old (and formerly, SF Giants) Candlestick Park next year, and to see the opening of the new SF-Oakland Bay Bridge eastern span!

(Macros, we'll need your help in the demolitions-there's plenty of jobs for you to do here!)

And now, if you have not seen it already, the implosion of Warren Hall.
View 1 (From Shooping Center. Listen carefully for the car alarm!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_WKdZD6wMI
View 2 (From Behind): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=763C9kYFY2M
View 3 (Closest): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=619uW_GmYOU