Breathing Again

The southeast tower cap is back up.  Relief!

Everyone is happy about this.

He's a little bit better protected from the elements, although I think slate isn't too far down the road.

The space vacated by the missionary box is now an excellent watching spot.  I noticed dirt has been placed at the base of the southeast tower where there used to be a big gap.

I also noticed this toothy grin, which belongs to some stairs which will either go in the stairwells near the south fountain, or in the pavilion.

I'm not sure the pavilion is in any hurry for the stairs, as the ladders are currently providing up and down access.

Can you see the welding machine hanging from the beams? 

The base of the steel beams will ultimately be at ground level.  The concrete piers will be at the same level as the styrofoam and dirt base which will go on top of the forms after the concrete is completed.  One beam trench is visible in this photo.

This beam trench is just to the south of the pavilion, with cables in place. 

This beam trench is even farther south. The men aren't hiding in the trench.  They are securing rebar.  The trenches are deceptively large.

Toward the south end of the lot is the beginnings of the ramp which will lead out of the garage to Second South.

Slate is rapidly covering the roof and almost completely covers the east gable.  The work might go faster if the ladders didn't stop to chat.

I am fascinated with the new arch in the north gable.  It's beautiful.

The planter on the north lot is being waterproofed, although this matting is special and directs the water flow.  Notice the conduit spreading out.  Gray is for electrical, my tutors tell me.

Many of you have asked me to investigate the gray conduit on the west lot which we can see from the cam.

My camera got a good look at it today.  It's bigger than I expected.

Some of you have suspected that I sneak inside the lot to get pictures.  Nope.  My camera has a great zoom lens which allows us all to see that this conduit heads down to the lower levels.  I can't tell you what it's for, but someone will eventually speak up.

Although my camera got this good picture of the work on the west side, it didn't capture the noise from hammers.

Work is underway to remove brick so quartzite stones can be placed over the new west windows.

I think they will look something like the arch over this niche on the northwest tower.  My camera happened to catch the jail bars around the newel in the tower.

You can see the white steel newel toward the left of this photo.

My camera also captured same jail bars around the newel in the southwest tower, although I was aiming at the brick.  The bars mean we can run up the stairs without any concerns.

Repair work on the brick on the southeast tower is underway and is just as fun to watch as it has been everywhere else.

Bricks are now being replaced on the south face.

To my surprise, I saw some serious repair work going on around the base of the southwest tower roof.  This tower roof received the most attention after the fire, but it looks like some touch up is necessary before the slate goes on.

The west gable kicktail was easily visible today. We can see how the curved roof edge fits nicely with the straight roof next to it.  Only the gables have this kicktail edge.

Watching the slate progress on the roof is best from the north side.

Watching the pavilion is best from the south.

But I can find flowers anywhere.