Demolition crews begin knocking down walls of Lakewood's former McKinley Elementary School (photo gallery)

LAKEWOOD, Ohio Excavators Wednesday morning began knocking down the walls of the former McKinley Elementary School on West Clifton Boulevard at Detroit Avenue.

However, the demolition came to a sudden halt after several minutes when a hydraulic line ruptured on the larger of two excavators used for the work. A replacement part was ordered, and demolition will resume tomorrow morning, said Dave Marko, owner of Marko Demolition and Crushing LLC, of Genoa.

A handful of nearby residents watched as the excavators started punching holes in the brick walls and clouds of dust arose.

"My sister went to school here when she was growing up," said Michelle Bird, a Lakewood resident who watching from outside a fence keeping the public away from the demolition area. "It's a part of history."

A young mother, Sasha Douglas, stopped by with her son, Pierce, and daughter, Boston, in a tandem stroller.

The family lives in an apartment where the children caught a glimpse of the demolition work and wanted to come for a closer look, she said.

"They're at an age where they love watching this kind of equipment," she said.

For the past three weeks, crews have been removing asbestos and cleaning out the interior of the building. Windows, boilers, metal, and other recyclable materials were removed prior to the exterior demolition. The brick also will be recycled.

McKinley Elementary was decommissioned as a school building in 2008. The city bought the former school in 2013 for $100 with plans to demolish the building and sell the land to a developer for a residential development.

The city and school district will split the demolition costs and the schools will receive any profit from the sale of the property to a developer after the city recoups its expenses.

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Demolition crews begin knocking down walls of Lakewood's former McKinley Elementary School (photo gallery)