Historic Woodwards Building Collapses in Massive, Controlled Explosion

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Historic Woodwards Building Collapses in Massive, Controlled Explosion -- Copyright Urban Jungle Films 2006

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At 8:31 am the historic Woodwards Building came down in a massive explosion. Buildings all over Vancouver's downtown core shook and car alarms started wailingfor blocks around.

"I couldn't believe how loud the blast was - and the shaking was incredible," says filmmaker Simon Schneider, of Urban Jungle Films.

The old building has been the source of considerable controversy in Vancouver for a number of years.

Originally the site of a pioneering department store, over the years it found itself surrounded by an increasingly blighted neighborhood, rife with drug use, violence, and poverty.

For more on the city's plan for the site click here.

Journalistic disclosure: the video was shot by filmmaker Simon Schneider, of Urban Jungle Films. He is the son of NowPublic editor Mark Schneider