Posted on 11/29/2005 11:23:52 AM PST by JZelle
The front door and main steps to the Supreme Court will remain closed until an assessment of the damage is completed. Built in 1935, the Supreme Court building is one of the newer facilities on Capitol Hill, compared with the more than 200-year-old U.S. Capitol and other historical buildings. Maintenance on those buildings is done every one-to-three years, said Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the Architect of the Capitol Office, which oversees and maintains the U.S. Capitol complex. In 2003, inspectors checked the building's east pediment during a routine maintenance check, Miss Malecki said. "There were no indications at that time of any issue with the stone," she said. "We don't know what's up there, what may or may not need to be done, or if there are other flaws until we do a survey." Inspectors checked the building's west pediment in 1992, said an official with the Supreme Court's public information office. Much construction is under way at the Supreme Court building and adjacent under East Capitol Street for an underground visitors' center to the U.S. Capitol. The five-year $122 million Supreme Court building renovation includes a two-story, underground police station. However, officials said the construction and renovation did not cause the stone to fall.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
They could meet in the Clinton Library in the meantime.
It was probably something Ruthie Bader-Ginsburg said that caused it.
Wouldn't bother me to see the whole court closed until Alito is confirmed.
Same here
Supreme Court descent
By Arlo Wagner and Keyonna Summers
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
November 29, 2005
Inspectors are trying to determine what caused a basketball-sized chunk of marble to break off from the facade of the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday morning as visitors stood outside.
No one was hurt when a chunk of Vermont marble from the building's west pediment fell 100 feet and shattered when it landed on the steps near where the visitors stood, according to the Supreme Court's public information office.
Any number of variables may have loosened the marble, including rust, moisture, a drop in outdoor temperature, natural decay or an imperfection with the stone itself, said William Dupont, chief architect for National Trust for Historic Preservation.
(continues)...
My bad, sorry about that. Thanks for linking to page 1.
It is not the crumbling of the building with which anybody should be concerned.
Yeah, they gave each dentil a sharp rap with a hammer to make sure it was sound.
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