There’s a tropical storm, maybe a hurricane, maybe heading straight for us. Maybe.
Nevertheless, demolition of the inverted pyramid has been temporarily put on hold in order to make sure the site is safe should a storm maybe hit St. Petersburg.
Crews were on site Friday afternoon clearing debris from the Pier head into large bins using cranes and other heavy machinery.
The overall structure is still mostly intact. Portions of the exterior façade have been removed or partially removed. It’s difficult to tell from a distance, but it appears some lower level demolition on the ground may have also occurred including some of the pavement.
We know for sure some of the bricks surrounding the Pier have been removed. The city handed out 250 of the bricks stamped with a Pier logo on them during a celebration this past Friday.
According to city spokesman Ben Kirby, there is no reason to fear the inverted pyramid is at any greater risk of damage than it would be under normal circumstances.
The contractors hired to complete the demolition have a storm preparedness plan to ensure projects are safe during a storm.
Kirby does not expect the safety precautions to affect the city’s 60-day timeline in completing demolition of the inverted pyramid. That project has been going on for about two weeks.
Here are photos taken of the demolition Friday:
And finally, apparently the Pier approach has become … a camping ground? There’s a camper just outside of the screen.
And yes, that’s a propane camping grill. You’re welcome.
