A building that's been part of the Calgary landscape for nearly 100 years is no longer standing.

Hundreds of Calgarians watched as explosives brought the Ogden grain elevator crumbling to the ground Sunday morning.

The 98-year-old elevator, which was owned by Cargill, was too expensive to maintain and no longer made financial sense.

"Well, generally, they don't tear down historic buildings, but in this instance I don't think they had a choice," says Fred Rakowski, the president of Rakowski Cartage and Wrecking Ltd which conducted the implosion. "It was pretty much falling down."

Dale Farr watched the implosion alongside his son Cody.

"It's sad," says Farr. "It says a lot for the farming industry. How it's changed over the years. But it's gotta happen, you gotta make room for the new world."

The cleanup effort will be a lengthy process and expected to last until February of 2012.