So, we all knew it was coming. The city told us it would take six weeks for the St. Pete Pier to be erased from the downtown skyline. We’re now winding up week three of demolition of the actual structure and yet, somehow, it’s still shocking.
Images of the Pier, what remains of it anyway, Friday afternoon are shocking. It’s not even “wow” shocking, it’s “holy sh*t” shocking.
The entire southwest corner of the Pier is gone. The northwest corner is in shambles with something dropping off the building like it had a stroke. The guts of the Pier are exposed and spilling onto the concrete.
The white awnings that once provided shade on the upper-level are torn down and the only color that remains is the yellow bottom of the now gutted elevator shaft and the blue top of the building.
The inverted pyramid shape itself is still fairly maintained. A live feed of the ongoing demolition shows the portion of the Pier facing the city, but unless by boat, the Bay-facing side is shielded in secrecy. Judging from time-lapse videos of demolition, it appears that side may still be well intact. For now.
A close-up photo of the demolition this week on the Voteonthepier.com Facebook page shows a giant orange excavator chomping away at the upper-level of the pier with bits of debris falling below. The poster asks the question, “is it getting past the barrier in the water?”
A turbidity barrier was installed surrounding the Pier head to keep debris from polluting the Bay. Most of the debris will fall onto the concrete surrounding the Pier that extends beyond its widest point. However, the demolition company and the city anticipated potential spill into the bay due to wind.
Pollution levels in the water will be monitored and demolition halted if too much debris is making its way into the water.
What’s clear from looking at the shattered images of the Pier being reduced to rubble is that, no matter your thoughts on Pier Park, it’s kind of sad. The bright colors, love them or hate them, have been replaced with gloomy shades of gray as raw construction materials are exposed.
Piles of Pier carcass dot the entire Pier head, resembling a teenager’s room on his or her worst day.
The livefeed of demolition hosted by SquareMouth includes a background on the Pier’s history. Included in that is a ray of hope for those who are excited about Pier Park. It shows a series of five pictures of the Pier, each one fading the inverted pyramid into the shiny, new structure planned for Pier Park.
