I decided not to crop this photo in order to make the people larger as I think the effect of the whole photo says it all. What you are seeing here is exactly the way it was. Two men were busy using sledge-hammers in order to knock down walls. This seems so backwards when the equipment to do this the modern way exists within the city. So why? Why are these men doing the work over a period of weeks when a machine could finish the demolition job in a day?
Well, it is actually quite simple. In taking the buildings apart this way, more material is salvaged. The modern way to demolish a building costs the building’s owner money. The traditional way gives the building owner money as well as giving the men doing the demolishing money. The issue of speed is not as critical most of the time. And in the process, everyone comes out a winner.