PHOTOS: See The Georgia Dome Come Down

Nearly 5,000 pounds of explosives were on hand to blast the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to smithereens Monday at 7:30 a.m. People gathered at windows of tall office buildings, at a nearby revolving hotel-top restaurant, in parking lots and at other areas around the scene downtown to watch the blast.

The dome opened in 1992, and officials had said it would be flattened within about 15 seconds. The Georgia World Congress Center Authority, which includes the 71,250-seat dome, had said it would take 12 seconds for the explosives to go off plus another 3 seconds for sections of grandstands to be on the ground.

The dome has been replaced by the $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium next door.