The Century Building
The City eventually bought the buildings back from Finney... at a cost of $6 MILLION dollars, ten times what he paid for them.

With the development rights thus secured, the City then handed them over to the DESCO Group and DFC Group -- without issuing a Request For Proposals. DESCO/DFC proposed to demolish the Century Building for a parking garage to serve the Old Post Office; the proposal did nothing for the remaining Syndicate Trust tower. An alternative proposal -- which would have kept both buildings intact -- was quickly squelched by the City.

Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, a sustained public outcry, a private lawsuit against the development, and basic principals of sound urban planning all failed to stop the garage plan. In early October 2004, wreckers smashed the corners of the building, before a judge could issue a decision in a stop-work injunction. Thus damaged, the building was effectively doomed.

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