Failed building demolition creates the 'leaning tower of Dallas'

The building was supposed to come down Sunday morning, but a failed demolition left it with a distinctive tilt — and nickname: "The leaning tower of Dallas."

The implosion by Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition was part of “The Central,” a 27-acre, $2.5 billion development project that will bring an office building, hotel, eateries and other amenities to an area just north of downtown Dallas, the Dallas Morning News reports.

But nearly 300 pounds of dynamite wasn't enough to topple the old building on the development site, said Steve Pettigrew, president of Pettigrew Inc., a company involved in the demolition.

Pettigrew blamed timing, saying the building, which has a concrete and steel core, "undressed itself" too quickly during the implosion, Pettigrew said.

"The skirt came off the core," he said.

NBC DFW

What was left is 35 feet shorter and listing at 15 degrees, Pettigrew said. The remaining structure — which a Lloyd D. Nabors spokesperson said is "safely contained" within the job site — will be demolished later with a crane and a wrecking ball, Pettigrew said.

In the meantime, a slew of comical photos showed people in the distance pretending to lift up — or push over — the leaning tower.

One photographer, Lauren Armstrong, said she’d never been to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but now she wasn’t sure she needed to make the trip to Italy.

"Here it is," she said. "Dallas brings the leaning tower to Texas."

Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition will bring down what remains of the 11-story building later this week, the company told NBC DFW.