The rise and spectacular fall of the 'high-rise estate in the countryside' demolished in seconds
manchestereveningnews.co.ukIt took just eight and a half seconds and half a ton of explosives. In 1990, Kersal Flats entered the Guinness Book of Records as the largest building demolished at one time.
But just 30 years earlier the vast high-rise estate was being hailed as the future of housing in Salford, with flats there among the most sought after council tenancies in the city.
It was a spectacular fall from grace. Kersal Flats were designed by Deansgate-based architects firm Cruickshank and Seaward, the firm behind the Renold Building at UMIST and the old Elizabeth House on St Peter's Square.
Built at a cost of £1.7m - around £32m at today's prices - it was the largest housing project in Salford's history. Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link. Construction began in 1958 and was completed two years later, before being officially opened on March 2, 1962 by then Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell.
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