El Paso City Hall demolition : From Hollywood to the historic, firm topples towers nationwide

Archive photos: El Paso City Hall

The family behind Controlled Demolition Inc. -- the company bringing down the former City Hall -- has long been in headlines as it has worked on some of the largest demolition projects around the world and on some big-name Hollywood action movies.

On April 14, CDI will add El Paso's former City Hall building to its long list of projects, which includes a handful of Las Vegas hotels.

In 2009, the company imploded what was dubbed the "leaning tower of South Padre," a 38-story skyscraper with great ocean views. The Ocean Tower high-rise remained unfinished when it began sinking into the sand and cracking. That set the world record for the demolition of the tallest reinforced concrete building.

Nearly 10 years before that, CDI set the world record for imploding the tallest structural steel building: The 44-story, 439-foot-tall J.L. Hudson Building in Detroit.

The company was founded in 1947 by Jack Loizeaux, a forestry worker who began to use explosives to remove the roots of trees that had died. He then branched out, knocking down bridges and buildings.

Today, CDI is known as a leader in the commercial explosives demolition industry.

"It's definitely a family thing," said Stacey Loizeaux, the

Her father, Mark Loizeaux, is now president of the company.

Controlled Demolition Inc. is known for its implosions, where strategically placed explosives break a building that then falls into its own footprint.

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El Paso City Hall demolition : From Hollywood to the historic, firm topples towers nationwide