2. SOUNDBITE: Tyler Kent, father worked at Bethlehem Steel: "My father and other relatives worked there for 40-some-odd years, and we seen it go up, being built in the '70s. And it's just an iconic building. Every day I look out my window, I see this building, landmark. And it see it come down, and to see it come down brought a tear to my eye. It really did. I didn't think it was going to affect me emotionally like it did. But I just can't imagine it's gone. It's just like pulling a front tooth. It's so sad."
Sixteen thousand tons of Bethlehem Steel collapsed in a matter of seconds Sunday as a demolition crew imploded Martin Tower, the defunct steelmaker's former world headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Crowds watched the demolition of the area's tallest building, a 21-story monolith that opened at the height of Bethlehem Steel's power and profitability.
"To see it come down brought a tear to my eye. It really did. I didn't think it was going to affect me emotionally like it did. But I just can't imagine it's gone. It's just like pulling a front tooth," said Tyler Kent, whose father worked at Bethlehem Steel.
America's second-largest steelmaker went out of business in 2003.
Explosives took out Martin Tower's steel supports and crumple the 47-year-old building, which earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places despite its relatively young age.
Martin Tower had been vacant for a dozen years.
Its owners are redeveloping the site into a mix of medical offices, stores and apartments.
