Sunday's site work marks the beginning of the end for McClung buildings

Demolition is tentatively set to begin Monday morning on the last building still standing amid the fire-ravaged site of the historic McClung warehouses in downtown Knoxville.

City contractors began work Sunday, using heavy machinery to clear charred debris from the foundation where a massive fire gutted another one of the vacant structures barely a week ago.

Rather than an old-fashioned wrecking ball, an ultra high-reach excavator capable of reaching 115 feet into the air will be used to dismantle the remaining eight-level warehouse piece by piece, said Kirill Vladimirovich, head of business with North Carolina-based J.W. Demolition.

That piece of equipment gives us the ability to recycle building materials through deconstruction, more so than demolition, he said. Slowly but surely, well take it down almost like you would a building made out of Legos.

Contractors expect to recycle more than 90 percent of the rubble.

The city of Knoxville, which owns the property, has claimed 500 bricks from the site, to be used for a future preservationist effort.

Fountain City resident Stan Sitton managed to snag his own memento brick with a polite request as well.

Sitton was among a scattering of onlookers who turned out Sunday to watch as the iconic albeit blighted piece of Knoxvilles skyline was put to rest.

Its all history disappearing, right here, Sitton said. That buildings been there forever. Look at all the brickwork in that building. All the brick, somebody had to lay that, you know. Somebody did all that.

Its sad its got to go, but it is pretty neat.

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Sunday's site work marks the beginning of the end for McClung buildings