LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Tropicana opened 67 years ago. It will take about 22 seconds to destroy it during Wednesday morning’s implosion.

FOX5 recently toured the implosion site and discovered that the Paradise Tower, closest to Las Vegas Boulevard, and Club Tower will be destroyed in a different way.

The Club Tower is framed with concrete. Dynamite will be used to take it down. Pillars in certain areas will be shot with dynamite to weaken them. The pillars can then no longer support the weight of the building and it falls on itself.

The Paradise Tower has a steel frame, so no dynamite will be used. Instead, a charge will cycle copper through the steel to weaken it.

“To use a common analogy, if you have a soft stick of butter and you stick a knife through it, it doesn’t melt the butter, it doesn’t evaporate it, it just pushes it aside. That’s what the copper does,” says the owner of Controlled Demolition Inc. Mark Loizeaux, who will perform the implosion.

Also in the Club Tower, the pillars where the dynamite goes are wrapped in metal fencing to prevent large chunks of concrete from shooting out.

This is where the black curtain-like material wrapped around the pillars comes into play. These casings are placed on certain floors where the explosion will occur, to prevent smaller debris from flying out of the building.

The same goes for the Paradise Tower. Work to place the dynamite and copper charges on both buildings began last week and was expected to be completed on Sunday.

There have been 24-hour patrols to prevent anyone from activating the explosive material.

FOX5 also learned from crews that 95 percent of these buildings will be recycled.

Concrete chunks are crushed on site and used as a base for the paving. The steel is recycled and used for almost everything made of steel.

The implosion of the Paradise Tower will begin first. It will be just off Las Vegas Boulevard.

About four seconds later, the Club Tower will fall slightly towards the Paradise Tower.

In about 22 seconds, more than six decades of history will be gone.

The site will provide the area for the new A’s baseball stadium, expected to be completed in 2028.

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