HOUSTON, TX – It’s D-day for a Houston landmark. In less than 48-hours, the 66-year-old Macy’s building downtown will take its last breath before being brought to the ground. Already, Houston’s nostalgic have come out to say their good-byes.
“I’ve worked downtown for 36-years,’ says Michael Massa. ‘I run a couple of restaurants down here. I know that Foley’s was built in 1947; it used to be the store to come to, and I have mixed feelings about it.”
Ten minutes after sunrise, Sunday morning, demolition crews will throw the switch. Preparations have been ongoing for months. Roads will be closed north and south from McKinney to Polk and east and west from Fannin to Milam.
The Metro rail will shut down tonight through Sunday and already windows are being boarded up around the blast area. But still, not everyone in the line of fire is in the know.
“They have told me nothing about it,’ says business owner Abdul Karim Barabtani, ‘they never discuss with me anything. Nobody has come and discuss with me regarding my property.”
Abdul’s beauty shop is directly across the street. Less than 48-hours to detonation, he’s still in the dark.
“My concerns are regarding my glasses in the front is not covered, not going to be covered up, they are going to cover? I don’t know. a lot of people will be here.”
While some worry, others wonder, and search for a good spot to watch the walls come down.
“I have several spots,’ Michael Massa says. ‘I’ll probably be on a motorcycle, but I have friends at Total Plaza and they overlook it right from the top of the building.”
So if you haven’t said your good-byes, now’s your chance. Sunday morning it’s coming down.
