Is San Francisco back in the phase of window glass flying off buildings? We may have just seen something similar, as the DBI has confirmed that shattered glass fell from on high at the Transamerica Pyramid on Thursday night.
Remember the winter of 2023, when high winds caused glass to fly off windows all over downtown San Francisco? It happened at the Fox Plaza in January 2023, then at 555 California in March of that year, at Millennium Tower a week later, and two more downtown buildings just days after that.
Even when it wasn’t windy and wintry, we saw a pane of glass fall off of Salesforce East earlier this month. And on Thursday night, which was a nice and clear night, yet more glass fell from the freshly renovated Transamerica Pyramid.
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“At around 6:45PM today, I was nearly struck by flying shards of glass flying out of the Transamerica pyramid building,” a commenter posted to Reddit Thursday evening. “There were about 4 other close calls, but I believe nobody was hurt. They’ve cordoned off the entrance on Washington street.”
Glass from the Transamerica Pyramid damaged during cleaning reportedly rained down onto the street below Thursday night: https://t.co/MCqBMcKO4Y
— KRON4 News (@kron4news) September 27, 2024
This wasn’t just some crazy Redditor. KRON4 confirmed a window pane shattered early Thursday evening in the Transamerica Pyramid. “A spokesperson for the iconic property’s owners, SHVO, told KRON4.com that the glass was damaged during a routine cleaning,” that station reports.
The SF Department of Building Inspection told KRON4 that it had been alerted of the incident on Friday morning.“The inspector issued a Damaged Building Notice, which required the property owner to secure the opening where the glass fell or was broken, and to replace it as soon as possible,” per KRON4.
Here is the window that shattered while getting cleaned at the Transamerica Pyramid.https://t.co/IyxWQqhzTQ pic.twitter.com/JjIAXfqyRl
— Michael McLaughlin (@McLaughlinnews) September 27, 2024
The SF Standard obtained a photo of the broken window from the DBI, which was apparently on the 35th floor, and also got a statement from a Transamerica Pyramid spokesperson. “A window pane at the Transamerica Pyramid was damaged during a routine cleaning last night,” that spokesperson said. “We’re thankful that nobody was injured and to the team on-site who responded quickly.”
Yeah, about this “routine cleaning." The SF Standard posted a Youtube video a few months back, seemingly meant to be complimentary, but boy does it show in a different light now. The video describes a “unique window washing protocol” where the windows rotate 180 degrees, so they can be washed from inside. But maybe this brings on additional risk?
Yes, it was only one broken window, but there could have been fatalities here. And there's no question it’s a less-than-outstanding start to the newly remodeled Transamerica Pyramid.
Image: UNITED STATES - AUGUST 07: Skyline view of San Francisco, California, with the Transamerica Pyramid as the focus (Photo by Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
