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Sealed away for 100 years, we finally discover what’s hiding in these walls.
Constructed in 11 months, the exterior of @thepittsfield is made up of more than 9,000 handcrafted terra cotta pieces.
After a century of exposure to the elements, some sections have deteriorated and cracked. Restoring this 40-story tower means carefully inspecting and rebuilding each damaged piece.
As sections of the exterior are carefully removed, layers of the original skyscraper are exposed for the first time in a century.
This is Day 8 of saving a 100-year-old skyscraper.
Transcript
High above the city streets. You were never meant to see this. Day eight of saving a century old skyscraper. Today, we find out what's hiding in these walls. Built in just eleven months, this 40 story tower was pieced together like a giant Lego set. So where'd all these holes come from? Over 9,000 individual pieces make up the exterior of this tower. With something baffling hiding behind them. Over 9,000 individual pieces tier up the exterior of this tower. With something baffling hiding behind them. Each piece was handcrafted in 1926. Nobody knew what was sealed inside until now. Some sections are so big that it takes three people to move a single block. Block. Over the last century, these pieces have shifted and cracked, and that could cause some serious problems. One by one, crews carefully removed chunks from the tower. For the first time in a century, these hidden layers are finally seeing daylight again. Peeling back the walls, we find crumbling brick, old mortar, and even the skyscraper's original steel frame. But the strangest discovery? 100 year old horsehair, perfectly preserved inside the walls. Because this tower is a landmark, every damaged piece must be recreated exactly as it was a century ago. A process expected worst us over $35,000,000 all to restore a priceless piece of our skyline.
