The nearly century-old Wellington Hotel Annex in downtown Albany, New York, imploded in a blaze of glory at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

Alloveralbany.com published an anthology of instagrams and tweets individuals took of the multi-colored explosions and fireworks that demolished the 11-story hotel which dated to the 1920s.

Columbia Development was the company who planned and Controlled Demolition Inc. executed the combination show and demolition. The purpose for the demolition was to make room for a $66 million convention center.

Albany mayor Kathy Sheehan told the Albany Times Union, “That was really an amazing thing to see. To see so many people come out and witness history in the making and history in the coming, it’s really a wonderful thing.”

The demolition was originally scheduled for Thursday. Jim Santoro of Controlled Demolition Inc., due to his schedule, was at first not able to perform the demolition on the weekend, which is a better time to block roads as not as many people would be trying to get to work. Once the president of Columbia Development Cos. Joe Nicolla discovered it would be possible to hold the explosion on the weekend, he immediately rescheduled, according to the Albany Business Review.

The area surrounding the hotel was prepped for weeks, says the Albany Times Union. Preparation included monitoring the air quality and removing hazardous materials like asbestos from the building.

The Wellington Hotel Annex, as the name implies, was originally built as an expansion to the Wellington Hotel. When the hotel business was not doing well financially, the property was sold to the city in the 1970s and became off-campus student housing for the University at Albany. It was sold in the 1980s to Columbia Development.

The Wellington Hotel Annex was located on Howard Street near New York’s Capitol building.