The 100 year old Wellington Hotel Annex in Albany, New York imploded magnificently on Saturday with a planned lead up of fireworks and timed explosions to dramatize the demolition.



The fireworks began at 9:30 a.m. local time, accompanied by flashing lights, streams of bright colors shooting into the sky, loud bangs and puffs of smoke in the shape of the letters "J & J," an inside nod to the project developer and his wife.



The site of the 11-story building, located near the Capitol, will be used to construct a new, $66.5 million convention center.



Plans for this convention center have been in the works for 20 years, in the hopes of strengthening economic devolopment to revitalize downtown Albany.

Reuters