FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Demolition began Tuesday at Fort Lauderdale City Hall as city leaders also unveiled a time capsule that was sealed within the walls of the building during its construction more than half a century ago.
The building was completed at the corner of Andrews Avenue and Northeast First Street back in 1969 to the tune of just $3 million.
And, of course, it has stood there ever since and it still stands, but not for much longer.
“The city is moving forward,” said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. “This is a great city with a lot of growth and opportunities for not just change, but good change.”
Crews began removing a portion of the building Tuesday – the next step in a planned demolition of the building.
The building has been closed and unusable for a little more than a year.
Unprecedented record rainfall flooded the building, wiping out crucial mechanical systems down in the basement.
City leaders have been meeting in the interim over at the Parker Playhouse, but they said the price to repair the old City Hall building would have just been too much.
So Tuesday, the city began the process of demolishing the building, taking down part of it.
They also opened the time capsule, which had been sealed within the walls of the facility for more than half a century.
The GI death toll, amid an ongoing war in Viatnam, was the headline of a newspaper that was one of relics removed from the capsule.
What’s next for the site is still to be officially determined.