Politics

Ventilation shaft collapses near Sunlight Foundation offices

By Noah Kunin

We’re big fans of real-time data and reporting. We’re also big fans of the 1800 Cafe, our go to place for a quick bite to eat here at our offices in Dupont Circle. These two interests collided this morning when we noticed the ventilation shaft of the 1800 Cafe break from from the building it was attached to and fall into the alley next to our offices. After noticing the shaft swaying, a warning was sent to the 1800 Cafe and the building managers but alas, it was too late.

While the warning was delivered I taped the event. Here’s the video showing the unfortunate aftermath and our delirious reaction. We hope the cars it crushed are insured and that the 1800 Cafe is back in business soon.

No changes were made to the video except for bleeping out some colorful words and adding a watermark. There is a jump cut in the middle of the tape, showing a perspective from a different window in our office, exactly four minutes after the collapse. Starting when the first bolts popped off, the collapse was approximately six minutes in total.

Full post as published by Sunlight Foundation on April 28, 2010 (boomark / email).