Masonic Temple Demolition

The Masonic Temple demolition in downtown Zanesville began Friday night and continued into the early morning hours Saturday.

Maple Leaf Demolition started around 7pm Friday and then finished up around 2:30 Saturday morning. Zanesville Fire Department’s Assistant Chief Doug Hobson explained how the company started the process.

“We were able to put the high lift excavator in the air and everything has gone really great. Everything that we expected to happen by pushing the building in on itself. Everything has gone really smoothly. We’ve protected the jail, we’ve protected the computer image building, which is one of the big things we were making sure was done,” said Hobson.

Many residents gathered from a safe distance to witness the historic building’s demolition. Work began again Saturday to knock down the last half of the back of the building.

“Again, we’re doing a 360 for public safety, making sure nobody is in the zone. AEP and Columbia Gas are down here trying to prepare to get utilities restored back to the jail, the courthouse and the law building. We had to sever those lines for safety reasons,” explained Hobson.

The plan is start hauling the remains of the building once demolition is complete.