October, 2004 - Page 3

Posted November 4, 2004

Along the backside of the bridge the cornice was fleshed out and painted. They’re probably trying to finish the exterior on the bridge as quick as they can too, since Curry Street has been closed for months while they do all this work. A little more detail work and coats of paint, and the scaffolding should be ready to come down here.

Then the rains came, and they quickly wrapped up the bridge in plastic. I guess whatever they’re doing can’t get rained on, if they’re going to this much trouble.

And then one day, the unthinkable started to happen. The scaffolding on the west side of the tower began to disappear. The top few floors were finally exposed to view. I guess this also confirms that the final color of the tower is going to be this bright, bright white. I wasn’t expecting that. Before renovation the tower was kind of a sandy beige color, and the conceptual drawings showed the finished product as a deep brown. But now that they’ve put on the final layers of paint and stucco, it turns out the be white. Quite the shock when I first saw it, but after I’ve given it a couple of weeks I’m starting to get used to it. I do like the detail work they’ve done around the windows, though. It’s definitely an improvement over what was there before.

The little scaffold-dismantling worker bees were hard at it, and soon the tower was almost completely uncovered. Well, the west side, anyway.

From a couple of blocks away the Ormsby rises above the houses. This is it, this is the face the Ormsby House will put out to the world for decades to come (unless they’ve got another surprise up their sleeves). That white can be a little blinding when the sun hits it just right, but in all I think I like it. Good work!

The scaffolding stayed up on the rest of the tower as they worked on finishing the stucco and the painting. Soon it should all be coming down, and at least one part of the project will finally be finished. I never thought I’d see the day.

Still a lot for them to do, though. The hotel may be done, but they casino has a stretch to go. And the inside of the building is still gutted. More to come in November as they race against Mother Nature. See you then!