Salisbury received a state grant to demolish several historic buildings downtown, but Monday night they came down without any outside help. Nancy Wellborn watched the town's old barber shop collapse.

"The dirt and the bricks came clear across everybody when they started to see it go," Wellborn said. "They all ran in the ally because there were bricks coming."

The buildings were in disrepair and had unstable foundations, but no one was hurt as the buildings were evacuated.

"The big part came down at 7:50 there was a big cloud of dust and you couldn't even see this part of town," Salisbury mayor Joe Fehling said.

Wellborn stayed out until 9:30 to watch.

"It just came in. It reminded me of something in the war that you see on TV from Iraq," she said.

A steady line of cars drove by today to look at the rubble. Some took pictures and even grabbed bricks for mementos.

"I hate that it happened because of all it means," Wellborn said. "I mean it means something to me. But ordinary people just think oops the building fell down"

The grant money will not go unused. An old hair salon on the corner and the old American Legion building next to the rubble are still slated for demolition.