Demolition of E. B. Fred Hall

 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison 

in the Summer and Fall of 2004

Mid-Late November

1 through 3: A few shots taken Nov. 17 and 18 of the widening hole as the old Fred Hall basement is dug out.

4: It appears that I'm jumping the gun on the ground-breaking ceremony for the new Microbial Sciences Building. Actually it was quite an honor to be asked by several of the demolition workers during a break to get up into a Cat for an official portrait! (Photo by Ollie.)

5 through 8: Some photos of metal components of the building. Photos 5 and 6 show the significant amount of rebar in the concrete columns. Quite a maze of pipes is seen in Photo 8.

9 and 10: Some shots taken around Nov. 30. A closeup of the action in Photo 9 is shown here. How the place is getting to look like an archeological dig is seen in Photo 10.

11: A suggestion by Prof. Teagarden to get one of our photogenic sunsets framed by the arm of the Komatsu is accomplished here.

Early-Mid December

12 through 16: No, that's not Lake Mendota seeping up in some of these shots. As if dealing with surprise discoveries of asbestos didn't consume enough time during the course of the demolition work, what is delaying progress now is the constant rain which is turning the excavation into a giant mudhole. One would have expected some snow and colder weather to firm up the ground this time of year! Photos 15 and 16 are panoramic views stitched together from webcam images – showing the area on a foggy, drizzly Dec. 6 and a rainy Dec. 7, respectively.

17 and 18: A good freeze-up finally comes around Dec. 12. What is shown here (in these photos from Dec. 15) is an hydraulic concrete-splitting device mounted on the arm of a bulldozer.

19 through 23: As the demolition work nears its completion, here are some parting shots taken Dec. 16 – including three panoramic views constructed from individual photos taken (as were the others) with my trusty old Canon SLR Camera (Model TL) which has served me well for over 30 years.

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Department of Bacteriology, U.W.-Madison