Traditionally, the conclusion of building projects has drawn people together to celebrate cultural progress. Thousands toured the Crystal Palace during and after its construction in mid-19th-century London; in 1937, 200,000 pedestrians each paid a nickel to cross the newly opened Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco; in 1974 the topping-out of the Sears Tower with a special white beam signed by 12,000 workers was covered by a throng of press. Just as historically, and also in the name of progress, building demolition has emphasized the symbolic role of buildings by calling attention to changes in cultural values and temporal powers as the old is swept away in favor of the new. The destruction of Persepolis in 331 B.C. by Alexander the Great indicated the triumph of Hellenistic culture over the Mesopotamians; the order by Pope Julius II to condemn Constantine’s basilica and thereby make way for a new St. Peter’s epitomized the papal desire to link itself with an interpretation of Roman a...