What will actually happen to the former Capital One Building at 856 Washington

Dawndew

I love the landmarked interior of Walgrens on Fulton near Nostrand that was once a bank.

whynot_31

progress of demolition

photo by:  https://twitter.com/noamross/status/736136840382697472

whynot_31

Interior demolition now appears complete.   I assume they will begin on the roof next.   

more than you ever wanted to know about demolition planning: http://www.aia.org/aiaucmp/groups/aia/documents/pdf/aiab089227.pdf

whynot_31

Not so fast:   There is a stop work order on the site.

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?boro=3&block=01179&lot=0105&go3=+GO+&requestid=0

whynot_31

A neighbor informs me that work has resumed today.    The work is reportedly structural, but it is not yet clear whether the shell of the building has been pierced.

laddhalsey

I saw grey sky through the ceiling this morning on my way to work...

whynot_31

I'll see if I can get some shots from above after work.    Readers, they usually collapse the roof into the center of the building and then work on the walls.   

When the piles become large enough, they start scooping it into trucks with an excavator.

whynot_31

From this vantage point, it does not appear that the roof has been pierced yet. This was taken from the 14th Floor of Turner Towers, looking East. A view that will be obstructed by 2019. Bank is the building at bottom center of photos with debris on roof.

samisantha

A few photos from this AM -- has looked about the same for the past few weeks...

whynot_31

From your photos, it appears as if they have completely removed the ceiling, and created a small opening in the roof.   

My photos seemed to indicate that they have removed most of the tar and petroleum products that make up a flat roof, and must be recycled separately.

...very soon we will be able to get a "sky through the former bank shot" and/or a "bank through the former roof shot"

lox

Can't wait to see pics of the safe, aka the "money shot"!

Bob_Loblaw

whynot_31

excellent shot of the area in the far back of the bank.

They will now likely begin work on the actual roof, letting it fall into the center of the bank, and then collapse the walls into the center as well.   Once it is merely a large mound, they will start hauling it away with heavy equipment.

samisantha

This morning there was a crane out front...

whynot_31

Today, the area of the roof within the red circle has been demolished, and is open to the sky.

Area sans hole:

whynot_31

Look closely to now see rectangular hole:

whynot_31

July 23rd: Domed area now demolished. Only the beams remain



View of sky from door of bank:

whynot_31

More demolition. 

Hole in roof is larger

Safe is still in the back:

View of sky from door is quite large:

whynot_31

Closer photo of safe by Carlo Veconi

lox

There's the money shot.

whynot_31

I had always thought bank safes were made of stainless steel because they were shiny, like in this pre-demolition shot:

However, it is now clear that this safe was either clad in stainless steel that has been since removed for its salvage value, or it was merely shiny because it had never been exposed to the elements.   

...at a minimum, the core of this safe is/was regular steel.

whynot_31

Only about 1/4 of the roof now remains.

ehgee

whynot_31 said:

I had always thought bank safes were made of stainless steel because they were shiny, like in this pre-demolition shot:

However, it is now clear that this safe was either clad in stainless steel that has been since removed for its salvage value, or it was merely shiny because it had never been exposed to the elements.   

...at a minimum, the core of this safe is/was regular steel.

It was perhaps someone's job to oil/sand the safe door to keep rust at bay. Or perhaps they used gun bluing or another such treatment.

whynot_31

That makes sense. And, here is a more recent photo:



Photo not by me.

Bob_Loblaw

The roof is pretty much gone.

whynot_31

Correct.

whynot_31

The back is being demolished now.

laddhalsey

and from the rear too...

whynot_31

The workers are presently using jack hammers to expose the metal beams. They then use a torch to cut the beams. Once the beams are gone, I assume the sides and the front will go next. (The back is already mostly gone)

MOD

That's sad.