The 10-story ExxonMobil main office building, known as "The White House," was demolished by controlled implosion at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday after standing for 50 years. Residents watched the demolition, including Debbie Himsel, who triggered the implosion after winning the opportunity at a Rotary Club auction. Her father had worked in the building for nearly 43 years. Himsel said, “Mixed feelings, mixed feelings. It’s a landmark, lots of memories, for a lot of people,” according to Click2Houston.
Lawrence and Ruth Herbert, longtime residents who passed by the building daily, witnessed the demolition. “It’s exciting, but at the same time, kind of nostalgic, because you pass it every day, every day, back-and-forth and back-and-forth, and you just expect it to be there,” Ruth Herbert said in an interview obtained by Click2Houston.
Roads in the area were closed as a safety measure, and the site remained cordoned off until 7:30 a.m. during the implosion. Local residents, some with personal ties to the structure, gathered to watch. Debbie Himsel told ABC13 that her father worked for ExxonMobil for 40 years, and the "White House" had been his workplace for much of that time.
The old building has been demolished, and the site is expected to see continued development. ExxonMobil's Baytown Olefins site manager Kim Haas stated, “We have plans, continued growth, plans with new technologies, investments, that will bring future growth in the years to come,” indicating future projects that are still being finalized, as mentioned by Click2Houston.
