Tower of former Monsour Medical Center in Jeannette coming down

Chuck Cook wasn't going to miss the demise of the former Monsour Medical Center.

The Jeannette man took Tuesday off from his job as a machinist to watch the long-awaited start of demolition of the nine-story, cylindrical tower along Route 30, not far from his home.

“I'm curious to see what's going to go in here,” Cook said. “It's got to be better than this.”

Cook was among dozens of people who stopped at the site Tuesday as workers started to collapse the tower, a landmark at the city's entrance since 1971. As he watched from Pennsylvania Boulevard, Cook, like many others, said he had been a patient there.

Crews spent the morning using a hoe ram, a powerful percussion hammer fitted to an excavator, to weaken concrete supports on the ground level. By noon, the interior was exposed like a sagging dollhouse. The white exterior panels and other debris crashed to the ground and the floors dipped, seemingly on the verge on collapse.

City police and firefighters blocked one lane of Route 30 westbound for about an hour in the afternoon when it appeared part of the tower was in danger of falling onto the busy highway.

But the structure remained standing, likely because of the extensive grids of reinforcing steel, or rebar, used to construct it.

“It was a very well-built building,” said Jay Bandieramonte, development supervisor with the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp., which is overseeing the demolition. “It'll come down; it'll just take some time.”

Dore & Associates of Michigan had planned to use a 3,000-pound wrecking ball to demolish the tower story by story, starting on the top floor and working down. But that strategy changed, and the demolition company opted to chisel away at the bottom columns first, Bandieramonte said.

The contractor may use the wrecking ball at some point, he said.

The building's stubbornness to fall matches the long path it took from its closure in 2006 after failing a series of state health inspections, its abandonment and now its demolition.

It had deteriorated into a dangerous eyesore targeted by thieves, vandals and arsonists. The county land bank purchased the property for $15,172 at a 2014 tax sale.

“I think the wrecking ball gives a sort of poetic justice as to how this monstrosity should be removed,” said Jeannette's solicitor, Scott Avolio.

“I'm just happy it's coming down,” said Jeannette Mayor Richard Jacobelli, who watched some of the work. “This is one of the main arteries coming down into Jeannette.”

He said many have an emotional connection to the former hospital.

Pat Graham of Madison and her husband were driving past on Route 30 and decided to turn around and stop. She took photos with her cellphone.

“It's just such a big part of this area's history coming down,” Graham said. “I just wish it wouldn't have taken this long to get to this point.”

Ronda Youngbauer of Jeannette was surprised to see the progress Tuesday afternoon when she and her daughter, who was born at the hospital, and grandchildren headed out to buy groceries.

“I was here a few times for a few different things,” Youngbauer said. “They were always very attentive. It was a very good hospital.”

“It got really ugly and it made Jeannette look bad,” said Ashley Wagner, Youngbauer's daughter. Her two brothers enjoyed watching as the heavy equipment tore into the building.

Some spectators said they hope a grocery store will locate there, and others thought a gas station would be a good fit.

Across Route 30, Pinnacle Auto Sales owner Barry Freger said he just wants to see the property used.

“As long as it's productive,” he said.

Joseph Williams of Jeannette has been stopping by the site for weeks to check on the progress. A patient there a few times, he hopes another medical facility replaces Monsour.

“It was a beautiful hospital. It was a shame it went downhill like it did,” he said.

Officials expect the $1 million demolition project to be completed by the end of March. Plans are to clean up the site and market the property for redevelopment.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.