Dianne B. Walker (left) / 6NEWS (right)

Before (left) and after pictures of the old Pillowtex plant in Kannapolis.

Two Kannapolis landmarks fell to the ground Thursday.

Around 9:09 a.m. the smoke stacks at the old Pillowtex factory, one labeled Cannon and the other labeled Fieldcrest, were demolished. Well over a thousand people gather around the old Pillowtex plant site to watch the demolition.

The event was set to take place at 9:00 a.m. but officials said there would be a 15 minute delay because of the foggy weather. But the stakes came down just 9 minutes past the hour.  

"I wasn’t here when it happened”, said spectator Alec Kelly, “I was like, 'what happened? How did they come down?'"

Many people not expecting it to happen at that time weren’t ready with cameras and video recorders.

Others were in shock to look up to an empty Kannapolis sky.

"It is hard to see them come down but I know I things got to change," said Wayne Flowers.

This change was too difficult for Bill Furr, a long time Kannapolis resident, to accept.

"It makes me feel sad, it brings me tears. I don’t like none of this," Furr said with tears in his eyes. 

The site of the stacks falling is a sure sign Kannapolis isn’t the city it once was. A reality Laura Blackwelder, 88 never thought she would see in her lifetime.

 "When you grow up with something like that, you think it will be forever," Blackwelder said. 

Now there is an official rebirth of a place promising better jobs and a brighter future as crews work the rest of the day cleaning up and making room for the Biotechnology Research Center.