The City of St. Pete released a time-lapsed video of Pier demolition occurring between August 28 through September 4. In what would have been a slap in the face to activists who have long fought to preserve the inverted pyramid, the one-week progress shows … absolutely nothing.
A side-by-side comparison doesn’t show any substantive changes between the beginning of the time lapse and the end.
See for yourself. Here is a screen shot of the Pier when the time lapse first begins.
You can see heavy machinery in the image and what looks like some debris scattered about. The structure itself appears in tact.
Now, here’s a screen shot of the Pier on September 4.
Not much seems to be different. In fact, a crane at the Pier appears to be in nearly the exact same place as in the first screen grab.
This isn’t necessarily the most surprising thing in the world considering crews are working to gut the structure before toppling its shell.
One thing is sure, if the city releases a time-lapsed video of the Pier actually being reduced to rubble, it’s probably not going to go over well for the folks over at VoteonthePier.com who continue to lament the city’s process and cry foul over tearing the structure down to make way for Pier Park.
The video was sent to those who subscribe to Mayor Rick Kriseman’s weekly email “Sunblast.” According to that post, the city “will record and share time lapse video of the demolition process.” They promise to share the videos weekly until demolition is completed.
It’s not clear whether this is a good idea or not. On one hand, supporters of Pier Park are likely to see demolition as clearing the way for progress. Meanwhile, opponents of the planned project may be further enraged by images of the structure crumbling.
