Glass from broken Transamerica Pyramid window falls to street below
Transamerica Pyramid staff members were guarding the perimeters of the building on Friday morning as crews cleaned up the glass and debris from a window that broke.
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection said a glass pane was being cleaned Thursday evening, when the glass somehow broke with the pieces of the window falling down onto 600 Montgomery Street.
Some people said, however, this news doesn't worry them.
"Everything's a risk. You just got to be willing to take a risk," San Francisco resident Mark Weiman told CBS News Bay Area.
"I lived in the city for many years," Steve Zolno said. "Stuff happens. What can you say?"
The incident comes about two weeks after the Transamerica Pyramid reopened its lobby to the public for the first time in four years. The new owner, Michael Shvo, conducted an 18-month renovation project in hopes of revitalizing downtown.
Now crews have another project on their hands.
"Definitely a big deal. People got to do preventative maintenance on those buildings," Jake Johnson, a stationary engineer who works on high-rise buildings, told CBS News Bay Area. "As engineers, we don't really clean windows, so window washers are kind of separate, contracted out. But same thing goes into every job: safety is first. We want to maintain the integrity of the buildings."
This is not the first time, however, that glass fell from a downtown high-rise onto city streets.
Earlier this month, a full pane of glass was being installed on the roof of the Salesforce East building when it plummeted to the street.
Local business owners said the outcome could have been much worse, but so far, it's just been a minor inconvenience.
"The building has always been pretty safe," said Tricolore Caffe & Pizzeria co-owner Michael Imperiale. "I park inside the pyramid, and they told me to go around the area."
As for the Transamerica Pyramid, officials say they're working to replace the broken window as soon as possible.