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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Three Years

The fire was three years ago today.  This picture taken from the north on University Avenue shows that the north and east gables fell in with the roof.  The south gable on the other side also collapsed.
Today, things look a little brighter, not to mention that it was twice as warm as last week, a balmy 34 degrees.  The three fallen gables are in various stages of being rebuilt.
There seems to be more going on in the air than on the ground.
The east gable has been uncovered so we can admire it.  I studied the inside of the roof for quite awhile this afternoon.  I'm glad the upper level windows haven't been covered yet.
I like the catwalks.  We can see these under the roof, but there are also catwalks below the ground level which can no longer be seen.
I am intrigued with the steel plating in place for seismic protection.  You can see 1/4 inch thick gray blocking atop the white beam which will keep the rafters from rolling during an earthquake. 
This white steel plate along the northeast wall will be welded to the steel roof decking.  It is placed between the rafters to keep them steady.
Steel has been placed along the valley ridge beams in case of seismic action.  This view from the west shows the vertical white steel supporting the catwalk which is just out of view behind the decking.
The Ogden Temple, shown here in a photo taken yesterday by Lane Montgomery, has received seismic improvements during its current renovation.
The Provo Temple is closed this month for maintenance which has included putting micropiles in the basement for seismic protection.
Apparently two cranes haven't been enough at the site.  This yellow crane showed up this afternoon.  Notice the earthen rampart built to accommodate his journey.
The construction cam caught the crane's progress as he moved into place.  This view shows a new wall to the right of the base of the southwest tower.
My handy-dandy snow bank allowed me to take this picture over the green construction fence.  Our view of the mechanical access tunnel is now limited to the cam.
The black concrete blankets have been removed, indicating the walls of the mechanical shop have cured.
Rebar for concrete pillars in the west lot are visible.  Forms for the roof of the underground parking garage on the left are spreading.
A huge bubble of plastic is covering some action at the underground entrance.  I'll be sure to get a picture when it's removed.
This west lot roof will be built differently than the annex roof.  Concrete will be poured over tension cables which have yet to be placed.
Workmen are removing the scaffolding from the foundation.
The black crane moved the south lot staircase about 50 feet this afternoon.  Notice a new ramp  west of the south entrance.  It was not in use today.
I'm not sure how all these men and machinery fit on the east side, but they stay very busy.
Have you wondered how the waffle plating and steel forms would be removed from below the annex roof?  The opening for the skylight above the brides' room is not just a pretty face.
Mr. Crane is lifting a stack of waffle plating from the annex below.
These workmen in the foreground cleaned off the snow from the area at the base of the northeast tower.
After I left the site, they covered the area with a waterproof layer.  The entire annex roof will be waterproofed and then covered with styrofoam.
When not pulling stuff out of the annex, Mr. Crane delivered rake racks to the west gable.  The rakes allow the roof to extend past the gable.
Alongside the activity at the gable, a red ladder helped a workman prepare the northwest tower for its cap.
The northeast tower, like the southeast tower, now has decking on top of its steel beams.
Three remaining tower caps wait patiently in a corner of the north lot.
It was an unbelievably gorgeous day.
The fire is just a distant memory.

4 comments:

David said...

This is a great tribute, Julie! Thanks so much.

Quick question about the gables: in the existing west gable, there is a small half-moon shaped window. Looking through the pictures, it looks like that will not be a consistent feature in the other four gables. Am I correct in this assumption? I would love to see the window there, but the long white poll in the center of each of the other three gables appears to dash those hopes. What do you think?

Julie Markham said...

I recently looked at old pictures of the interior shot from the ast to see what the shotcrete was like on the inside of the west wall. That window is covered quite well. I don't think it will be a functioning window.

David said...

Ahh, so, I'm guessing that when they lay the brick down, each gable will probably have a window...with cement behind it. I would be shocked if that was not the case.

Thanks!

Julie Markham said...

I had not thought of that, to be honest. I have, somewhere in the past, posted a picture of the east side before the fire. There was not a window on that side, the the brick had a window-like shape to it above the three windows which remain there. I'll find a way to work that into an upcoming post so we can all speculate together.