Turret Topics

Christmas Day at St. Gregory's

2011-12-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas day was accompanied with very mild weather and a beautiful cloudy, but not overcast, sky. I made a quick trip outdoors to snap a photo of the now turret-less Benedictine Hall with the clouds behind it. Lots to be thankful for this Christmas, not the least of which is that the broader St. Gregory's community has been brought a bit closer together as we have had to deal with the effects of earthquake damage on campus. Stay tuned for more information about the plans to rebuild the turrets.

Today's Report Revised

2011-12-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like they made a great deal of progress on the capping of the turrets earlier today. I understand that the decision was made to use a foam roofing material to seal the turrets off for now. The southeast turret is now complete and the remaining three should be done in the next day or so.

And Now...

2011-12-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

Not much happening on top of the building these last couple of days. It looks like they are making preparations to cap the turrets, but nothing has happened yet. The flapping of the tarps in the wind seems to have caused more brick and decorative masonry to fall to the ground and a few more windows were broken.

Meanwhile, though, everyone is moving back into Benedictine Hall and getting their offices back in order. The semester ended yesterday and the students have gone on holiday. The past month and a half have been stressful and the campus community and visitors have had to put up with some inconvenience, but we have survived and the energy on campus seems to be positive.

Moving Back

2011-12-13T16:42:00.000-08:00

The announcement was made today that we will begin moving back into Benedictine Hall later this week with the goal to have everyone back in their offices by the end of the day on Friday. The largest of the two cranes that have been used in the demolition project has now been moved off campus and much of the barrier that was set up around the building has been taken down. The next phase of the project is to "cap" the towers and while that is being done we won't be able to use any of the north or south entrances to BH. It will certainly be nice to get back to some sense of normal on campus.

"And Then There Were None"

2011-12-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

The sole remaining turret has now, but for the last bit of damaged brick, been removed from the top of Benedictine Hall. I suspect that the final bricks will have been completely removed by early tomorrow. We should know soon how they plan to proceed from here. Stay tuned for more information as it unfolds.

And a Little Bit More...

2011-12-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

The word "from the top" is that the rest of the remaining turret should be completely removed by early next week. The next step of the process will involve a decision as to exactly how to cap the four turrets in order to protect the top floors of Benedictine Hall from any water damage until the actual restoration work begins. Work has also begun to assess and plan for repairs of collateral damage caused by masonry falling from the top of the building. The roof of the northwest entry to the lower level of BH has been "banged up" as a result of all that has happened. Removing the roofing materials on that entrance has revealed several bent steel beams - looks like it was hit with a ton (or more) of bricks. At any rate, the day draws closer when we will be able to move back in.

"Memento Terrae Motus"

2011-12-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

We had T-shirts made for the campus community to commemorate the earthquake of November 5, 2011. The first batch was distributed to those who attended the annual Monk Student Christmas Dinner in the cafeteria this evening.

"Rainy Days and Mondays..."

2011-12-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Cold, windy day. Near freezing temperatures this morning and high winds means no work on the turret today. There were predictions of snow, but haven't seen any yet. There is a general hope on campus that there won't be too many more delays in the demolition process - everyone is quite anxious to get back to normal office spaces, classrooms, and routines. But it is December and we have to expect some bad weather.

Three Down, One to Go

2011-12-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

On a cold and overcast Friday, work has begun to dismantle the last remaining turret on Benedictine Hall. The workers decided not to move either of the cranes around to the north side of the building, as was originally planned. Both cranes have been re positioned to enable them to reach the back side of the tower from the front of Benedictine Hall. That will surely prevent further damage to the concrete and lawn areas on the north side. Some nasty weather is predicted over the next few days, so it remains to be seen how much work they will be able to get done.

Tossing Bricks

2011-11-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

Today was a day of removing bricks and tossing them into a dumpster-like container. There is just one last damaged turret standing. It looks like they should begin dismantling that one tomorrow.

A Few More Bricks Come Off

2011-11-29T16:10:00.000-08:00

The demolition moves along a little faster now that they are down to the part of the turret that is just brick. As long as the weather and the wind cooperate the progress on the project can be steady. The second crane was in use today to hold the container that the workers are putting the bricks in once they are removed. That eliminates the need to lower the cage with the workers in it each time a piece is removed from the turret.

Back to Work

2011-11-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

The work crew returned today to continue the dismantling of the two remaining turrets on top of Benedictine Hall. Since the very top of each turret is decorated with ornamental glazed terra-cotta pieces, the "deconstruction" process is slow and painstaking. Each of the ornamental pieces has to be separated from the rest of the structure and brought down by the crane one piece at a time. It looks like they will finish removing the decorative elements of the southeast turret early tomorrow and then begin removing the portion of the turret that is brick. We appreciate the effort the crew is making to save as much of the original materials as possible for our reconstruction efforts.

Part of the crew spent some time on the north side of Benedictine Hall removing the rubble created when the northwest turret was brought down a little over a week ago. The salvageable pieces were stacked on pallets and the broken brick, etc. were hauled off in a front end loader.

A Little More off the Top

2011-11-23T13:41:00.000-08:00

The weather, this day before Thanksgiving, couldn't be more lovely and I am guessing that the workers appreciated the warmer and less windy conditions. They have now dismantled the southeast turret down to the level of the decorative shields. I know, from having tried to lift one of the ones that came down with the northwest turret, that those shields are heavy. Dean Josh estimated that each one weighs about 200 or so pounds. It will be interesting to see how they manage to remove them. At any rate, the work is progressing. (photo by Br. Damian)

Video Footage

2011-11-23T06:27:00.000-08:00

There is now a YouTube video of the northwest turret coming down. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLHI4_R6-jI

I stood there on Saturday afternoon and watched that scene as it happened and snapped a photo. Then I remembered that my little digital camera has video capability also - I could have made my first video.

Slow...but progress

2011-11-22T13:48:00.000-08:00

Little by little the southeast turret is being dismantled by a couple of workers standing in a metal cage suspended in the air by the crane. Meanwhile, on the ground, others are separating out what can be salvaged. Needless to say, the work is slow (and dangerous), but progress is being made.

The staff members who came down from the Tulsa campus to attend the Faculty/Staff Thanksgiving Luncheon saw the damage "live" for the first time. One of them reported being taken aback by the sight, even though she had seen the pictures and the news reports. At any rate, we stopped for a moment to give thanks for God's many blessings and to be grateful for the positive response of the extended St. Gregory's community since the earthquake. Then we ate...and ate... (photo by Br. Damian)

Piece by Piece

2011-11-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

The water is back as the result of some long and hard work on the part of our intrepid maintenance crew and some hired plumbers. Today the workers installed some bracing on the two remaining turrets in order to stabilize them. They then began to dismantle the southeast turret.from the top. The workers are removing the masonry one piece at a time to try to save as much as possible for restoration efforts. (photos by Br. Damian)

"And Now for the Rest of the Story"

2011-11-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

The impact of several tons of bricks hitting the concrete yesterday caused two breaks in the water main. Our maintenance crew and several local plumbers worked much of last night and are working again today to repair the damage. Meanwhile the campus is without water.

After the turret came down Dean Josh and I began picking through the rubble to find pieces of the decorative masonry so that it could be somehow re-used in the restoration. The shields that decorate the sides of the turret came down almost intact, but the gargoyles, as we have always called them, didn't survive the fall. The figures on our building are not really gargoyles since they don't serve the function of channeling rain water away from the building. The figures on Benedictine Hall are more correctly called "grotesques." But enough of that - here are some photos. (photos by Josh Clary)

And the Turret Came a Tumblin' Down

2011-11-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

The equipment arrived, around noon, to rig a kind of "lasso" at the end of the crane in order to pull the northwest turret over. The engineer was hoping that way to have some control over which direction it fell. After maneuvering the cable into place (trying to hook the turret underneath the gargoyles) it took only a few seconds for the turret to let loose. A bit of noise and a cloud of dust signaled that the operation was over and the take-down successful. There is no serious collateral damage to the rest of the building, just a pile of rubble in the rock garden behind Benedictine Hall. Two down, two to go. Stay tuned... (photos by Br. Damian)

Awaiting the First Take-down

2011-11-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

The plan is, later today, to take down the northwest turret. Everyone is surprised that it is still up there, as the damage to it is severe. Seems like an image of St. Gregory's itself - no matter how we get shaken up, battered and bruised, we keep on going. But I digress. The engineers and workers are being cautious and trying to find a way to make sure that the turret falls in the right direction so as not to do more damage to Benedictine Hall. Here is a photo of the turret in question. Check back later for photos of the "take-down" (photo by Br. Damian)

"Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain"

2011-11-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

It appears that the windy weather conditions are going to effect a delay in the work on Benedictine Hall today. "The best laid plans of mice and men..." Local media, however, continues its job of covering the story.

Since there are no photos to show of work being done, I thought you might like to see this picture of fall foliage behind the monastery. (photo by Br. Damian)

The Work Begins

2011-11-17T08:41:00.000-08:00

The work to remove the turrets, damaged in the recent earthquake, from the top of Benedictine Hall on the campus of St. Gregory's University has begun. Check out the SGU Facebook page for more information and photos: http://www.facebook.com/stgregorysuniv.

Check back here for additional photos and commentary as the work progresses.

The work so far has included site preparation and set-up. As you can see from the photos - the heavy equipment and the portable toilets have arrived. Two large cranes have been put in place to accomplish the work of bringing down the three remaining turrets piece by piece. Rubber tires and sheets of plywood have been placed in various locations to protect the roof and the building from further damage. (photos by Br. Damian)