The iconic Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla., was imploded on Sunday after shutting down in 2017 and falling into disrepair.
A video shared by Twitter user @maruprincipito shows the 17-story hotel tower crashing down in a huge pile of dust and rubble at 8 a.m. Sunday. Spectators can be heard cheering the demolition.
The historic Deauville Beach Resort on Collins Avenue was built in 1957, and in its 1960s prime it hosted The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, and President John F. Kennedy, among others. The hotel tower was closed in 2017 after it sustained damage from Hurricane Irma and an electrical fire.
Preservationists worked for years to try to save the building, to no avail. The Miami Beach Building Department ordered the demolition after an engineering firms report determined the building was structurally unsafe and beyond repair.
Miami Beach voters last week rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed the construction of a new development proposed by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross on the site. The proposed hotel and condo would have exceeded the areas height limits.
