Structural Crack Discovered In The Tower Of Philadelphia's City Hall
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Work begins Friday morning to repair a crack that was discovered in the tower of Philadelphia City Hall. Officials suspect it may have been caused by last month's earthquake.
The crack on the City Hall tower balcony was noticed earlier in the week and an engineer's study recommends immediate repairs.
"Its one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure its repaired, and done quickly," said Managing Director Rich Negrin.
The work will take about one month. Negrin says any falling debris would land onto the roof of the outer portion of City Hall, so pedestrians are safe. The exact cause may never be known:
"We do believe it is related to the earthquake, that's a possibility. So it is a cautionary tale, I think. Everybody out there who manages buildings should be looking at those buildings to make sure they're safe."
City Hall itself will remain open to the public, tours of the building will continue, but tours of the tower will be suspended for at least a week.
Reported by Mike Dunn, KYW Newsradio
