Crack in Philadelphia City Hall tower halts tours

Tours of Philadelphia City Hall Tower have been suspended because of a crack in a balcony.

Earlier this week, a workman found some stones on a midlevel roof at City Hall. Deputy Mayor Richard Negrin says a further investigation found the crack in a balcony of the north side of the tower.

 “The good news is there are no pedestrians underneath that side. The crack is pretty sizable and we’re going to start working on it right away,” said Negrin. He said officials believe it is a result of the earthquake at the end of August.

Deputy Public Property Commissioner Joseph Pallantino says the crack in the marble is about a half-inch wide and repairs won’t be quick.

“It’s about a month process to go and put wood dunnage on the roof scaffold up to the beam and have the engineers take a look at that condition,” he said. “Based on that condition they will proscribe a type of fix, which could include pinning or jacking the stone back.”

Pallantino says the city has a contractor from another job available to do the work, but the cost and how much time the fix will take have not been determined.