A Hurricane-Damaged Louisiana Skyscraper Is Imploded

BATON ROUGE, La.—An abandoned, 22-story building in Lake Charles, Louisiana—once an icon in the city that became a symbol of destruction from hurricanes Laura and Delta—was imploded Saturday after sitting vacant for nearly four years. The Hertz Tower crashed down in a matter of seconds after a demolition crew set off a series of explosions inside. The tower fell in a large cloud of dust into a pile about five stories high. The building, formerly known as the Capital One Tower, had been a dominant feature of the city’s skyline for more than four decades. However, after a series of hurricanes ripped through southwest Louisiana in 2020, the building became an eyesore, its windows shattered and covered in shredded tarps....