February 4, 2025

"For as long as humans have made towers, some have leaned. The Tower of Pisa started settling unevenly..."

"... on its shallow foundation not long after its third floor was added, in 1178. Despite the increasingly obvious problem, five more floors were built over the next two centuries; the ornate bell chamber was finished in 1372. In 1990, when the angle passed five degrees... [c]rews siphoned earth from underneath the building to mitigate the problem, though by then it was unthinkable to eliminate the lean entirely. Millions of tourists came to see the flawed structure every year.... In the fourteenth century, when the medieval traveller Ibn Battuta visited the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, in Mosul, he wrote that its curving minaret was 'splendid,' and affectionately referred to it as al-Habda, or 'the hunchback.' The mosque was destroyed in 2017, during the Battle of Mosul. UNESCO later surveyed locals about restoring it, and ninety-four per cent of respondents said that they wanted the minaret rebuilt 'exactly as it was.'..."

From "The Leaning Tower of New York/How a luxury condo building in Manhattan went sideways" (The New Yorker).

28 comments:

Rabel said...

"The mosque was destroyed in 2017, during the Battle of Mosul."

ISIS blew it up, but whatever.

Peachy said...

I didn't realize that about a NY skyscraper... it's a scraper.

Here is a free link with a video.

James K said...

"unlikely to topple over" is not so reassuring. I suppose that apartment building in Surfside was "unlikely to collapse."

Enigma said...

Then there is the absolute farce of San Francisco's Millenium Tower, which may be actually the opening to a money black hole:

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/series/millennium-tower/san-francisco-millennium-tower-foundation-sinking/3460782/

Rocco said...

“…when the medieval traveller Ibn Battuta visited the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, in Mosul, he wrote that its curving minaret was 'splendid,' and affectionately referred to it as al-Habda, or 'the hunchback.'

When they rebuild it, they should call it the Bill Clinton minaret.

Narr said...

Phallic as can be.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lazarus said...

Postmodern architects tempt fate by making buildings that look like they are about to fall down.

Same thing with the "super-tall, super-skinny, super-expensive 'pencil towers.'"

It would be terrifying if everyone went over to one side of the building to look out the window.

Curious George said...

Niles, IL had a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I went by it many hundreds of times but never in it. It was made to conceal water towers for the pool. Closed now. https://www.vniles.com/883/Leaning-Tower-of-Niles

rehajm said...

Peyronie's...

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Clinton had the same problem.

KellyM said...

This has been a debacle for years now. A total embarrassment, and a mere half-block away from Salesforce Tower, the tallest tower west of the Mississippi. Many locals indulge in gallows humor wondering which way Millennium will fall when the next "big one" hits.

n.n said...

Subsidence, material fluid, or a queer orientation?

Iman said...

Peyronie's Disease

Lazarus said...

Look at photos from last year's Taiwan earthquake if you want to see how far this can go. If the lower floors hadn't been completely crushed Taiwan's buildings might be in the running for postmodern architecture awards and plaudits.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Damn Iman, I came here to say exactly that. Bravo!

ndspinelli said...

Been to Pisa. Make it a day trip, see the tower, and then move onto other places in the area. Pisa is not much.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Meh! Go take a look at the old city center in Amsterdam, it's full of leaning buildings.

Narayanan said...

Peyronie's tower

tommyesq said...

Rt 1 north of Boston has a Leaning Tower of Pizza, albeit not as tall.

tommyesq said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Iman said...

Too generous, Rocco… Paula Jones testified that Slick Willie’s johnson resembled a roll of quarters.

Iman said...

LOL… 🤛

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Wobbly Warhead

john mosby said...

Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell…

JSM

john mosby said...

Dolly Parton could fix those towers:

“No lean, no lean, no lean, no leeeean….”

JSM

Fred Drinkwater said...

"I'm begging of you, please don't ... Fall over"

n.n said...

Queer structure for the straight construction.