A History of Excellence
When the late Pat O’Rourke started in 1962 with a loader and a pickup truck little did he realize the impact of his life’s work on the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area. In our 6th decade of excellence, O’ROURKE has developed into one of the largest demolition contractors providing integrated demolition and environmental services throughout the Midwest and beyond.
Today, O’ROURKE still operates on the cornerstones on which it was founded – superior service, reliability, integrity and innovation. Just as Pat believed and Mike & Michele O’Rourke continue to instill that a company is judged by its quality of work and the dedication of its employees. These simple traits have kept O’ROURKE as a leader in demolition industry and clients coming back decade after decade.
The 34 story and 32 story Millennium Hotel Towers are the largest demolition project in Cincinnati and has one of the tallest tower cranes erected in Cincinnati history standing at 410’ tall.
O’ROURKE embraces a culture of caring for our Team, our clients and our community. We want everyone to feel welcome and safe so that as we move into this next decade our reputation is one of the best in superior service and a great place to work and do business with. As a diverse business O’ROURKE is always looking for ways to expose students and young adults to careers in construction. Through our work with Spirit of Construction’s Career Construction Advocacy Program (CCAP) and Uptown Workforce Development Initiative (UWDI) we work hard to educate and train students in inner city schools about careers in the construction trades while also employing young adults coming from these programs.
Michele O’Rourke became the first woman Chief Executive Officer and majority owner of O’Rourke Wrecking Company and is focused on the strategic growth of the business and day-to-day operations. Michele joined the O’ROURKE Team in 1993 and has held various positions throughout her tenure. O’ROURKE is a certified WBE through WBENC and NWBOC.
O’ROURKE has doubled in size and is consistently ranked in the Top 15 as one of the largest Demolition Contractors in the US by ENR Magazine.
LG&E Waterside Station Demolition & Humana Building Implosion cleared the way for the construction of the KFC YUM! Center. This project was filmed by the Discovery Channel and featured on the series The Detonators.
Grant Hospital Demolition & Implosion at active Level 3 Trauma Facility
O’ROURKE opened a recycling center and C&D landfill to aid in its recycling goals of diverting as many loads as possible from sanitary landfills. www.whitewaterreclamation.com
This 37-second implosion cleared the way for the new Cincinnati Red’s Great American Ballpark.
O’ROURKE’s stellar reputation and safety record allowed us to continue to grow and perform work in all markets including, power plants, manufacturing, automotive, utilities, healthcare, hospitality, retail, entertainment, education, government and many more.
Ohio State University’s iconic Horseshoe Stadium renovation was O’ROURKE’S largest project in company history at the time. This project was multi phased and involved working around multiple trade contractors during active demolition.
Pennsylvania Transportation & Safety Building, Harrisburg, PA Implosion
Implosion of the 17 -story Muehlebach Hotel, Kansas City, MO. This famous hotel was visited by every President from Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan.
Implosion of Cuneo Buildings, Chicago, IL – these buildings were used during the filming of the movie Backdraft staring Kurt Russell.
The 90’s started with Mike’s tenure running the day-to-day operations at O’ROURKE. To kick off this decade O’ROURKE was the successful bidder on the demolition and implosion of University of Cincinnati’s Sander Hall – a 27-story dormitory. This was the tallest building to ever be demolished on UC’s Campus and at the time in 1991 the tallest structure to be imploded in North America. The 90’s was a decade of iconic implosions!
Carew Tower Project showcased O’ROURKE’s ability to demolish the top 20 stories of the 28 story building.
The 14 Story Neil House Hotel, Columbus, OH put O’ROURKE on the map for being experts in high-rise demolition
ACE Carton Factory, Hershy, PA was O’ROURKE’S very first implosion.
Throughout the 70’s Pat started making a name for O’ROURKE in the demolition sector. He became known for doing outstanding work with integrity. His jobsites were left extremely clean and never a need for a punch list. In 1973 O’ROURKE moved into its first formal office and maintenance shop on 4333 Mayhew in Delhi Township.
Throughout the late 60’s Pat expanded the scope of services offered to include demolition, underground utility construction, as well as commercial and residential development.
In 1962, Patrick H. O’Rourke laid the foundation for what would become O’Rourke Wrecking Company. At the age of 20, Pat started his own business excavating basements and foundations for home builders in Cincinnati. Word quickly spread about the quality service and integrity with which Pat conducted business. He capitalized on the opportunity to grow the company as Cincinnati experienced an urban renewal during the 1960’s.