The claw of the big Komatsu crane pounded the walls of the Alabama Gulf State Park Resort on Thursday, working to complete demolition begun by Hurricane Ivan.

Over the next six months, crews from Virginia Wrecking Co. of Stapleton will tear down the hotel and convention center, which has been closed since being damaged by the storm in September 2004.

Work was delayed while insurance claims on the state-owned facility were negotiated, according to reports.

For more than two years, hotel rooms with windows and walls smashed by wind and storm surge sat open to the elements as officials worked to settle the issue, said Terry Boyd of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

"Everybody's been waiting for this. Everybody's been wondering what's going to happen and when," Boyd said as he watched the demolition begin.

No date has been set for rebuilding the convention center and hotel until a state lawsuit filed over the project is resolved, according to reports.

Hugh Branyon, park director since the hotel was built in 1974, said the resort had been the center of many vacations and celebrations at the beach for thousands of visitors and residents over the decades.

"It was very sad for me," he said after watching the demolition. "This wasn't a day of celebration. I know it needs to be done, but that place has a lot of memories for a lot of people."

Branyon said he did not know exact attendance numbers over the years but said the 144-room hotel had averaged a year-round occupancy rate of about 70 percent since it opened.

"We had literally thousands and thousands of people here, and that's just the folks staying here," he said. "So many others -- locals -- came for meetings, parties or to eat in the restaurant."

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