The National Cathedral in Washington, DC (via flickr.com/47104507@N07)
Ok, we know you’re probably snarked out by the Twitterquake that accompanied the real 5.9 quake that struck the east coast of North America, but now for some real news.
Reuters is reporting that:
The Washington National Cathedral, the highest building in the city, suffered damage in Tuesday’s earthquake, with three pinnacles in the central tower breaking off, a spokesman said.
And for those of you who may not know what the National Cathedral is. Huffington Post has this blurb courtesy the AP report:
The Washington National Cathedral is an Episcopal Church landmark in the capital. Located in the northwest quadrant of the city near foreign embassies and the vice president’s residence, the gothic-like structure is among the tallest in the city. It’s historically been the site of funerals and memorials for presidents and statesmen.
Also, there is this report from NBC Washington about damage in the DC area.
And here is footage of the earthquake around the White House:
UPDATE: The Washington Monument has suffered damage as a result of the earthquake and now, according to CNN, workers are rushing to repair some of those cracks ahead of Hurricane Irene.
Unfortunately, the headline here is quite misleading; the damage is significant, far from “minor”. Millions of dollars in repairs are now needed (all of which must be funded by private donations and gifts), which will easily span several years. From cracked, skewed, rotated, crumbled and collapsed pinnacles across the length of the building (west towers, nave buttresses, bell tower, etc.) to large cracks and mis-aligned stonework in the thrust-absorbing flying buttresses, to a hole punched through the metal roof by falling masonry, to buckled glass windows. Definitely not minor damage.