Warren Hall, part of the Cal State University East Bay buildings, was deemed seismically unsafe.  It’s been sitting vacant for a couple of years.  Though not a pretty building, it is a landmark.  You can see it from almost anywhere in Hayward.

This morning the building was blown up.  It took about 15 seconds for it to implode.  The materials will be recycled and some will be used for construction of the new administration building on the same grounds.

The building sat on the Hayward earthquake fault, which was one of the reasons it was deemed unsafe.  This brought about an excellent opportunity for scientists.  It’s not easy to predict an earthquake, which makes it difficult to study them.  The implosion of a building equals roughly a 2 on the Richter Scales, the size of small earthquake.

Scientists seized the opportunity to study a planned earthquake.  They put several hundred seismographs around Warren Hall and Hayward.  The devices will record the impact of the man made earthquake.  This data may help researchers prepare for the next quake.

 
A video of the implosion of Warren Hall…