Afraid Of Heights?
Just in case you were wondering what all the fuss was about near the South Park garage …
That must be one fine view.
Weekend photos over at TacomaGeekery
Filed under: General
Just in case you were wondering what all the fuss was about near the South Park garage …
That must be one fine view.
Weekend photos over at TacomaGeekery
Filed under: General
9 comments
J Jake June 9, 2008
Drove by this afternoon and it looked like the structure was partially taken down. It sure wasn’t as high as some of the pictures I have seen.
T Thorax O'Tool June 10, 2008
It’s on the way down!
I swung by and spoke to the foreman. They had to truck the crane in from Florida, as there is a worldwide shortage of tower cranes (15% are in Dubai alone!). Some of the trucks broke down, and thus they can’t complete it.
Rather than have Pac Ave blocked off, they’re taking it down and will try again on the 21st.
And FYI, I found out that the crane will be 325’ tall, so the view from up there will temporarily rival that of the roof on Wells Fargo or Suite 2500 @ the Murano
D drizell June 10, 2008
Anytime someone sees a crane this tall in the middle of downtown, they think, “wow, something big must be under construction.” Too bad it’s just another parking deck and a couple floors of office space. I look forward to seeing many more big cranes in downtown Tacoma in coming years, building bigger buildings, however.
T Thorax O'Tool June 10, 2008
drizell, instead of thinking of it as “just a couple of floors”, think of this as the opening salvo.
It’s the first big crane in downtown I can remember, and I’ve spent 90% of my life in Tacoma. The las “big” things to go up were the Tacoma Financial Center in 1983 and the current Russell HQ in 1985.
It’s the first inning in a ball game, or what ever analogy you’d like. In light of the departure of the current Russell CEO, I’m confident we’ll see our first real skyscraper breaking ground by early 2009.
Then let the towers rise!
L Lee June 10, 2008
Actually, there were also cranes downtown for the Columbia Bank building, the convention center, the Sheraton/Murano, the Regence Building, many of the condo buildings. We’re not Dubai, or even Bellevue, but there has been more going on downtown that just Russell and the Financial Center.
R Rick Jones June 10, 2008
It IS great to see, but I’m wondering what happened to 2/3s of the crane tower. Most of yesterday was spent taking it down and hauling it away. I think it was last week the state L & I shut down three tower cranes in the area because they conatined ‘co-mingled parts’ – parts in the same crane from different manafacturers. Or maybe it was just too windy yesterday afternoon. Anyone know?
J Jake June 10, 2008
read comment #2
R Rick Jones June 10, 2008
Oops!
T Thorax O'Tool June 11, 2008
@Lee
You are correct, but I was too young (born in 82) to remember Russell or TFC. And Wells was built in ’70. The one for Columbia, if I remember wasn’t as big as this one… maybe I’m wrong but it didn’t seem as big.
I was mostly referring to downtown proper, and current ones like 505 Broadway and Midtown Lofts are technically downtown, but you know what I mean when I say “downtown proper”…