Editor's Picks: Landmark Gougler Building Demolished
Kent Patch gives you the editor's picks for top 10 stories of 2012.
Gougler Demolition
The C.L. Gougler and Machine Co. smoke stack crumbled into a pile of bricks Wednesday, April 25, 2012, as part of the demolition of the former factory. Matt Merchant contributed video for this piece.
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Videos
Editor's note: For almost a hundred years it towered over Kent, but in moments the C.L. Gougler and Machine Co. smokestack was erased from the landscape.
The smokestack, along with the plant that employed thousands over the years, was demolished. The building had been vacant for decades and the property owner, Furukawa Rock Drill USA, wanted to turn the area into greenspace.
FRD USA did a great job of documenting the process, saving what could be saved (a restored lamp post from the property stands outside the Kent Historical Society) and involving past employees in the factory's final days.
For 2012, this story is one of my picks for top 10 stories of the year.
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