The excavator's bucket clenched an I-Beam plucked from the Burrill Street rubble.
The operator then set about using it as a bat to knock down what remained of the former Methodist church.
The beam wasn't striking the roof section well enough so the operator released the beam and pushed his bucket against it at one end, fashioning a giant claw.
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He then hooked and pushed the roof section with the claw and dragged the section down.
"We developed that idea twelve years ago," said Total Group demolition company Co-owner James Morando.
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He expected the entire building to be down by the end of Tuesday.
The site will soon be clear of all rubble.
He said the site will look like a parking lot, just like the corner of Redington and Humphrey looks, by the end of Thursday or early Friday.
Total also demolished and hauled away rubble from the former Gateway Building after fire destroyed the structure last March.
Steve Cuzzi, site manager for the four-member demo crew, said the Burrill building was coming down fine.
They were going to try to salvage an ornamental chalice atop a cupola on the Victorian.
The main challenge was protecting nearby buildings from falling debris, since the properties are close together, Morando said.
They covered the side of a Burrill Street building with plastic and didn't look to have any problems.
Morando was hired for the demo work by property owner Michael Diplatzi.
Last summer the zoning board approved a special permit for an eight-unit condominium at the site of the decaying church.
Neighbors were eager to see the building come down, considering it a fire hazard and eye soar.
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