Shortly after 8 a.m Friday, the powerful steel jaws of a rumbling 45-ton excavator pierced the blended brick facade of the McBryde residence hall on Blossom Street, sending a gray cloud of rubble tumbling three stories to the ground below.
The demolition of the 70-year-old dorm, which got underway Friday and is expected to last about a month, closes the book on one of the University of South Carolina’s oldest residence halls.
“It’s always a little bit bittersweet,” said April Barnes, director of university housing. “If you think about how many students lived here, had their experience begin here, formed their friendships and their community. There’s just a lot of memories within McBryde.”…