Heavy Rains Trigger Balcony Collapse, Logan Square

April 18, 2013

While walking to work this morning, Liz and I were strolling along Logan Boulevard when we heard this terrific crash across the street – it was a loud and sudden sound, a huge *thump* that clearly had come from something very heavy.

I scanned across the boulevard, but didn’t see anything immediately. Liz, with her sharp eyes, spotted a building whose front balcony had partially collapsed.

On cross the street, we found a few people standing on the corner of Logan and Albany. I wasn’t sure if they were close by when it happened, but they seemed really close to the debris. No one was hurt, and slowly everyone kind of parted ways.

The debris came from the topmost balcony, whose entire front side is missing. Note the curvature of the top columns, particularly the one on the right.

It’s hard to see here, but the whole structure seemed like it was leaning to one side. I’m not sure if those cracks were always there in the columns, but the overall feeling you got being near this thing was that it was going to topple at any moment.

I got out my phone to call 311, but a person nearby (someone we recognized from Lula Cafe) was already on the phone. I found out that he was calling 911, which in hindsight was a much better idea.

As we rounded the corner towards the Blue Line stop, we heard a few police cars with their sirens on, headed towards the location. I have no idea if anyone inside the building knew what was going on, or if the balcony is even still standing. I’m going to walk by there on my way home today, and we’ll see.

// Edit: Just walked home, and snapped a few more photos.

Walking back along Logan Boulevard, I saw that the balcony was still upright and someone had cleared away all the debris. Police tape has been placed all around the perimeter of the building, and extended around the side of the building as well.

Maybe the balcony is sturdier than I give it credit for, but I’m still pretty wary of the whole thing.

View of the front door. What added to the tension as I walked by was that someone left one of the screen doors on the second floor unlatched. So with the strong winds kicking up, the door kept opening and slamming shut, repeatedly. Which felt like it was just making things slightly worse, bit by bit.