It's a clear, dry, warm, late August day here in central New Hampshire. Just the perfect day for dorm demolition.
According to local legend, Professor James Francis Morton built the dorm that bore his name for 100 years with his own hands. It took him two and a half years. Today, it took a gentleman named Ron Flora two and a half hours to tear it down. The chimney fell at 10:25.
The demolition of Morton House has prompted a variety of emotions. We know many alumni who are experiencing real sadness, sharing nostalgic stories on line.
For most of todays spectators--faculty, staff, trustees and some local kids--it is time to move on.
Construction of Morton House's replacement will proceed very soon on an adjacent site. The pace of the demolition picked up just before 11:00.
By 11:05, Morton House was gone. The front door was the last recognizable piece to go.
This afternoon, a pile of rubble is all that remains. This image is taken from the driveway immediately in front of the old dorm.
All that remains to be done is reclamation of metals from the debris. The wood will be processed into burnable bio-mass for electricity generation. So ends a chapter in the history of residential life at Proctor. A handful of squirrels need to find a new home.
