Above, Kraven the Hunter talks to himself while chasing after Rocket Raccoon. Below, courtesy of Wally Gobetz, the Rector Gate sculpture at the west end of Rector Place. As it happens, I walk by the Rector Gate several times every week, so maybe this one is cheating a bit. The two tall buildings in the center of the …
It might seem like todays’ post should have come before yesterday’s, but I feel it’s easier to understand the pictures of the early stages of excavation at 15 Broad Street if you’ve already seen what the final result looked like. In any case, the picture above shows the beginning of excavation. Note that the site grade is already …
There is one specific form of temporary construction that people not in the field never think of, but, when informed of its existence, immediately understand: support of excavation. People understand, without prompting, the need for protective fencing, for shoring, for temporary utilities on site, and so on. But “support of excavation” sounds weird: how do …
More at 15 Broad Street, this time the 1926 foundation construction. In case the fact that they are building caissons isn’t obvious – and I’ll discuss why it is next paragraph – the big wood box on the sidewalk bridge, to the left of the Little-House-On-The-Prairie construction shack, is labelled “The Foundation Company.” The Foundation …
Back to 15 Broad Street, only this time we’re looking at the 1926 demolition of the 1883 Mills Building, which filled most of the site of the future Equitable Trust Company building. Mills was ten stories tall, which, coupled with its date of construction, qualifies it as an early skyscraper, but its structure was old-fashioned. The …
