Lee Owens takes photographs of the Colorado State Judicial Building as it implodes Sunday morning with the help of explosives.
At exactly 8:00 am, today August 15, 2010, crews with LVI Services set off the explosives that brought down the former Colorado Judicial Building by Mortenson Construction. The building was located between Lincoln and Broadway and 13th and 14th streets.

The 6,000-ton steel skeleton of Denver’s Colorado State Judicial Building was turned into a twisted pile of debris Sunday by 40 pounds of explosives.

The controlled explosion went off at 8 a.m. The blast tilted the rectangular six-story frame to the south before a thick cloud of dust rose up to swallow it.

The metal, granite and other materials used in the building will be back. “It will be recycled for future products on other buildings,” said Bob Hansen, vice president of Mortenson Construction, the general contractor on the project.

Some of the granite, which hung in sheets from the building, will be included in the plaza of the Ralph L. Carr Justice Center, which will replace the court complex in the block bordered by Broadway, Lincoln Street and 13th and 14th avenues.

Throughout the summer, work has continued at the site, where the three-story brick Colorado History Museum also stood. The museum came down in early June without the help of explosives.

Crews gutted both buildings prior to their demolition, salvaging many items for recycling, said Bill Mosher, managing director of developer Trammel Crow, the project manager.

Last week, workers at the judicial complex cut into joints on the remaining steel frame to weaken the structure. The cuts were packed with explosives, Mosher said.

It was safer and easier to blow up the court building because of its height and the amount of steel used in its construction, Mosher said. “It is easier and safer to move the steel when it is on the ground than when it is in the air.”

Maryland-based Construction Demolition Inc. handled the explosion. Demolition of both buildings cost $850,000, Hansen said.

The ability to recycle much of the material from both buildings contributed to the way they were taken down. “We don’t demolish buildings anymore; we dismantle them,” Mosher said.

The recycling of building materials is part of the criteria on a score card used for certification as a “green” building under standards designed by the United States Green Building Council.

Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 ortmcghee@denverpost.com