WATCH: Baltimore Steel Icon Implodes in Seconds

The “Beast of the East” has been taken down.

The L-furnace at Sparrows Point, which towered 320 feet at the old Bethlehem Steel site, imploded Wednesday to make way for new development. At one time, it was the largest blast furnace in the western hemisphere, according to ABC 2 News.

See videos and photos from the Sparrows Point L-furnace implosion.

At 1:17 p.m., the structure toppled over “in a matter of seconds,” according to the Baltimore Brew.

Approximately 94 charges were applied at 12 points to bring it down, CBS News reported.

Removing the landmark is a step toward the redevelopment boom that county officials say is on the way.

The steel plant ceased operations in 2012.

Investment company Redwood Capital purchased the 3,100-acre site at Sparrows Point with plans to create an industrial campus there following environmental remediation, the Baltimore Business Journal reported.

“Today marks an ending and also an important beginning for bringing new 21st-century jobs and new development back to the Point,” said Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz in a statement.

Related: Baltimore County Officials Alert Area to Brace for Sparrows Point Implosion

To allow for the implosion, traffic was held on Interstate 695 at Broening Highway for six minutes, the Maryland Transportation Authority reported.

While the blast furnace and skeletal structure around it came down swiftly, the memories that the furnace represent will remain with the people in Dundalk, Edgemere and Baltimore County for years to come.

“I thought I would be long gone before it went down,” one former mill worker told WBAL.

Each building at Sparrows Point was assigned a letter alphabetically based on when it was built in relation to other structures, according to WJZ, which reported the L-furnace was built in 1978.

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Screenshot from YouTube video by Jonathan Wilson.