Forty years of tradition were torn down in 30 minutes Tuesday at the corner of Lindsey Street and Jenkins Avenue.

The original O’Connell’s Irish Pub & Grille was demolished by Midwest Wrecking Co. Tuesday afternoon, leaving only the foundation and restaurant’s back office standing and signaling the university’s plan to build new athletic residence halls by 2013.

The demolition also included the former sites of Subway, Campus Market, Pad Thai and Pumpkin Shell Preschool.

The businesses on the site known as Jenkins Corridor closed their doors in January to make way for construction on the new Sooner Housing Center.

O’Connell’s owner Jeff Stewart and some of his employees who worked at the original site came out to watch the demolition.

Stewart, who has owned O’Connell’s since 1970 and threw an empty beer into the rubble after the demolition to pay his respects, said he was surprised by the speed of the process.

“Forty years worth of tradition down in 30 minutes is kind of amazing,” Stewart said.

O’Connell’s, which opened in 1968, held a memorabilia auction before it closed that drew many locals.

Several regulars also came to watch the demolition of the main building from a safe distance across Lindsey Street. One student brought a trombone and played “Taps” during the demolition.

OU alumnus Matthew Bradley said he had been walking down Lindsey Street from work when he saw the demolition equipment.

Bradley said O’Connell’s was his favorite place to go to in Norman.

“There was a lot of good times had down there,” Bradley said. “My fondest memory is just sitting there, watching football games on the road. My buddies would always hang out and just sit at a table and watch the football games and have a good time and cheer.”

Bradley continued to watch the yellow excavators smash the concrete and metal as the dust began to settle.

“I’m kind of sad it’s gone. But time passes and things go away, and so I’m OK with it, I guess,” he said. “I’m glad I got to see it.”

OU acquired the properties in the Jenkins Corridor in 2007 after the OU Board of Regents approved the $4.5 million purchase price from the OU Foundation at their September 2006 meeting, according to meeting minutes.

The proposed Sooner Housing Center will provide housing to a 49 percent student-athlete population, OU spokesman Chris Shilling said.

Shilling said OU bought the property as part of its long-term expansion plan to improve the campus.

“It’s sad to see it go, but O’Connell’s still exists, and I know some people feel strong attachment to one or the other O’Connell’s location,” Shilling said. “I think they both have the same good quality product, the same owner, the same quality service, and so I think it’s a really great thing for them.”

O’Connell’s, in the meantime, has been open for business at its Campus Corner location since 2008, Stewart said.

“It’s bittersweet, but I’ve moved on to the other one,” Stewart said. “I’ve kind of adjusted now, but it’s still tough to see it go, because I think I can remember every inch that [the demolishers are] moving around in there.”

After the rest of the property is torn down by the end of the week, construction on the center will begin in approximately eight weeks, Stewart said.

The regents will meet today and Thursday to discuss final approval of the Sooner Housing Center project.