For some of the people this day was a day of destruction. For others it was more like a funeral for Luzerne County.
"I wish when I was younger, I was able to go through it," said Joe Ruscavage who wore a t-shirt that said 'RIP'. "I would have loved to see it in its glory days. To see it now, it's just not the hotel, just not what it was."
"The rate everything was going, I knew I'd see it someday, but I never actually knew when I would see it happen," said Ed Mountjoy of Plymouth.
Crews have 60 days to finish tearing the building down, and while some say it's bittersweet and they're sad to see it go, other say it's been causing problems, and this is a long time coming.
"Before they started doing construction, we would hear things in the building. There was probably homeless people inside of there," said longtime neighbor Pamela Laureano.
Some hope that the demolition of the Hotel Sterling means something will replace it and breathe new life into downtown.
The head of the demolition crew here says there should not be any problems in demolishing the hotel in the 60 days they have to do it.
Click here all our Newswatch 16 stories on the Hotel Sterling.