Historic Westinghouse Atom Smasher Comes Down
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's a historic landmark, a five-story reminder to Westinghouse's pioneering start into nuclear power that stood above Forest Hills for decades.
But Tuesday afternoon, the atom smasher came down.
It alarmed people who love the history of it.
"About 2:15 I noticed out the front window that atom smasher just going to the left on to the ground," said Jerry Peticca, owner of a bar across the street from the old Westinghouse site.
When it was upright, the bulb of the smasher resembled a giant pear or maybe a light bulb.
Built in 1937, it was an experiment in nuclear power, the world's first industrial atom smasher.
And neighbors were sad to see it come down.
"I'm very upset that they took it down because it's been a historic landmark here for years," said David Savko of Forest Hills.
But the current property owner Gary Silversmith says history lovers don't need to be concerned, even with the landmark presently on the ground.
Silversmith, who lives in Washington D.C. and at one point talked of building apartments on the site, tells KDKA's David Highfield that the bulb of the smasher will be preserved.
"We are going to establish a new concrete base for it, and keep it at the site, and have the bulb repainted including the 'W' for Westinghouse," according to a statement emailed by owner Gary Silversmith.
Silversmith says he approached several groups about taking the smasher, including the Smithsonian, but they all said no. So he promises it'll stay in Forest Hills and get a new fresh look.
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