The city of Savannah held a ceremony Thursday to honor the 54-year history of the Martin Luther King Jr. Arena as it moves closer to demolition.

Mayor Van Johnson removed the first brick from the arena’s exterior during the commemorative event, marking the first step in the building’s exterior demolition. The interior has already been partially dismantled. Each member of the Savannah City Council was presented with a chair from inside the arena, and several bricks were made available for the public to take home.

Michael Million, project superintendent for Reeves Young, said, “Interior demo has already begun,” adding, “We should anticipate the building coming down somewhere around the middle to the end of September is when we’ll start seeing things really start shaking loose.”