Long before the CentrePointe development, another downtown block sat undeveloped. It was known by locals as the World Coal Hole. In July 1983, this was the block where the Phoenix Hotel once stood. The Phoenix was demolished in 1981 and 1982 by Wallace Wilkinson, who planned to use the site to build the World Coal Center skyscraper. It was never built, and the site eventually was developed as the Park Plaza Apartments, the downtown Public Library and Phoenix Park. Photo by David Cooper