Another Brick in the Wall dept.
Dec. 1st, 2004 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellyssianImagine calling your insurance company and explaining to them that a bank fell on your car.
Well, three lucky people get to make that call, their cars literally hit by a ton of bricks.
The Wachovia bank in Downtown Bethlehem lost most of its brick siding - falling from a 2-3 story height to decorate the hoods, windshields, and roofs of three cars parked along side. It doesn't look like anyone was inside the cars (therein lies the aforementioned luck, as the cars are certainly totaled), and the passer-by's managed to get out of the way. The parking lot provides a common thoroughfare for pedestrians.
The window in our office - facing Broad Street and at an excellent viewing angle to the wall of the bank - is quite busy. Crowds arriving from all over the office, matching or exceeding what is gathering outside (although with substantially less fire fighters and police officers).
For my part, the low woomph didn't sound out of place, maybe as loud as a truck going faster than it should and bumping along the road.
EDIT:
Random overheard stuff:
"It's pretty sad that our jobs are so exciting we have to go look at a wall."
"Do the firemen really think that their helmets will stop a brick with three stories worth of momentum?"
"It's a good thing the bank had the roof leak fixed this summer."
"Looks like they used the same contractors we did." (That one really inspires confidence - I think it refers to the guys who cut a hole in the wall to make a door and found lots of wires and the IRS office instead of a clean opening on to an unused storage space. If not, I'm afraid of what else they did around here).
EDIT: A co-worker snapped some quick pics almost immediately after the incident - he had actually been looking out the window when it happened!
EDIT: Looks like I was off on my "ton of bricks" estimate. Eight tons, according to this article in The Morning Call.
Well, three lucky people get to make that call, their cars literally hit by a ton of bricks.
The Wachovia bank in Downtown Bethlehem lost most of its brick siding - falling from a 2-3 story height to decorate the hoods, windshields, and roofs of three cars parked along side. It doesn't look like anyone was inside the cars (therein lies the aforementioned luck, as the cars are certainly totaled), and the passer-by's managed to get out of the way. The parking lot provides a common thoroughfare for pedestrians.
The window in our office - facing Broad Street and at an excellent viewing angle to the wall of the bank - is quite busy. Crowds arriving from all over the office, matching or exceeding what is gathering outside (although with substantially less fire fighters and police officers).
For my part, the low woomph didn't sound out of place, maybe as loud as a truck going faster than it should and bumping along the road.
EDIT:
Random overheard stuff:
"It's pretty sad that our jobs are so exciting we have to go look at a wall."
"Do the firemen really think that their helmets will stop a brick with three stories worth of momentum?"
"It's a good thing the bank had the roof leak fixed this summer."
"Looks like they used the same contractors we did." (That one really inspires confidence - I think it refers to the guys who cut a hole in the wall to make a door and found lots of wires and the IRS office instead of a clean opening on to an unused storage space. If not, I'm afraid of what else they did around here).
EDIT: A co-worker snapped some quick pics almost immediately after the incident - he had actually been looking out the window when it happened!
EDIT: Looks like I was off on my "ton of bricks" estimate. Eight tons, according to this article in The Morning Call.
