OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Less than a block from where a 7,000-pound bomb blew the face off the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, a steel wrecking ball obliterated one of the lingering reminders of the 1995 explosion.

The YMCA building — left pockmarked and windowless since the bombing — was knocked to the ground in chunks Tuesday, months behind schedule because of public outcry to preserve the 1952 structure.

Thirty-seven children in the YMCA Building were showered with glass when the blast hit the federal building April 19, 1995.

"It's difficult to watch. This building withstood the bombing and it should be saved," said Rita Benischek, who watched the demolition from across the street.

The Murrah building was imploded about a month after the bombing. The Journal Record Building across the street is now a museum dedicated to the 168 people who died the day Timothy McVeigh detonated the bomb.

Within a few months, the site of the YMCA will be home to a parking lot for visitors to the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

"It's going to be a gift to the Oklahoma City National Memorial because we're going to have close, accessible parking," said Paul Heath, a bombing survivor who played handball and swam at the YMCA.

As demolition crews worked Tuesday, workers at the nearby memorial picked up flowers, balloons and photographs left there Monday, when McVeigh was executed.

Mike Grady, president of the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City, planned to take a few final pictures at the building Tuesday. Grady said the building needed to come down because it wasn't structurally sound.

A group called Preservation Oklahoma fought for months against the demolition plan, championed by a group called Parking Partners. The preservation group finally gave up because of a lack of money.

Trent Margrif, executive director of Preservation Oklahoma, wanted the owner of the building to turn the site into office or apartment space.

"They just weren't realistic about what could be done with the building," said Parking Partners attorney G. Blaine Schwabe III. "It was designed for one purpose — that was for being a YMCA."