What a sight the demolition of the Sterling Hotel Tower was! It certainly wasn’t a speed-wrecking project, but it was never intended to be. The tower had to come down without damaging the building to be preserved next to it. That building is the real value in that River-Market corner property. I chuckled when I read that Alex Rogers’ 2007 New Years resolution was to have the building come down two bricks at a time instead of one. Well, it did better than that, Alex. Not by much, but it’s okay. Haste makes waste.

I’m glad that they are restoring the Sterling corner property, even though I’ve heard that the inside is badly deteriorated. I’m positive and hopeful, but I must say what a shame it was that the building fell into the disrepair that it did. Bad owners and bad lawyers are responsible for killling the tower.

She had plenty of supporters though. I think it was Judd Shoval who said the inside of the corner property, even in her deterioration, was beautiful. He’s right. She is eerily elegant. I was lucky enough to be one of the people who went into the lobby in 2003 when the power was turned back on. Although our tour was limited to the lobby area, it was enough for me.

My mother and father had their wedding reception there. As a small child, I attended events in those rooms. When I was in my 20’s, I worked downtown and ate at the VIP coffee shop. I can still smell the breakfast special!

This September though, I walked by the tower to pay my respects to her. As I stood in the parking lot of the M&T bank across the street, I looked up at her in awe. I like to think I’m the last one to tell her that she was beautiful. It happened to be at sunset that day. The glow on her was just stunning. But, the smell. Many of the windows had been taken out and the smell of decay was so thick you could practically see it! I just hadn’t excected that.

While she was going down, you could see her insides. Half of her was stripped and exposed. But the structure of her rooms were clearly visibile. In some places, you there were even shreds of wallpaper left. In the walls, holes where plumbing and electricity once flowed. All gone now. It still strikes me when I see the hole there is left in the sky.

You just can’t help but think of what it might have been like to be in the hotel. What it could be like to be in one of those rooms as a guest.. When I look at the old pictures, I wish so strongly that I could step inside and walk around. I want to feel the marble and hear the sounds of busy lobby traffic, people of this bygone era when men always wore suits and ties and ladies wore gloves and hats. I want to ride the elevator to the penthouse and see the view of the city. I have never seen a photo of the city below taken from the top of the Sterling tower, but I would just love to know if one exists.

Part of her is gone forever. But I took a brick from the rubble. I put it in my garden and I will keep it where I can always see it. I think she’d like to have known that.