Transamerica Pyramid employees patrolled the building’s boundaries Friday morning as crews cleared glass and debris from a broken window.
KPIX
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection said a window was being cleaned Thursday evening when the glass somehow broke and pieces fell from the window at 600 Montgomery Street.
However, some people said this news does not worry them.
“Everything is a risk. You just have to be willing to take a risk,” San Francisco resident Mark Weiman told CBS News Bay Area.
“I lived in the city for many years,” Steve Zolno said. ‘Things happen. What can you say?’
The incident takes place about two weeks later the Transamerica Pyramid reopened its lobby to the public for the first time in four years. The new owner, Michael Shvo, carried out an 18-month renovation project in the hope of revitalizing the city center.
Now crews have another project on their hands.
“Definitely a big problem. People need to do preventative maintenance on those buildings,” Jake Johnson, a stationary engineer who works on tall buildings, told CBS News Bay Area. “As engineers, we don’t really clean windows, so window cleaning is a bit unusual and outsourced. But the same applies to every job: safety comes first. We want to maintain the integrity of the buildings.”
However, this isn’t the first time glass has fallen from a downtown high-rise building onto city streets.
Earlier this month, a full pane of glass was installed on the roof of the Salesforce East building when it fell on the street.
Local business owners said the outcome could have been much worse, but so far it has only been a minor inconvenience.
“The building has always been pretty safe,” said Michael Imperiale, co-owner of Tricolore Caffe & Pizzeria. “I park in the pyramid and they told me to go through the area.”
As for the Transamerica Pyramid, officials say they are working to replace the broken window as soon as possible.
