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Ralf Brown | all galleries >> Today's Photo >> 2006 Day's Photos >> May 2006 > 2006-05-30 Spiral
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30 May 2006 Ralf Brown

2006-05-30 Spiral

Pittsburgh, PA view map

This is the stairwell in Carnegie Mellon University's Wean Hall known as
Architect's Leap. The story I heard nearly 20 years ago about the name was that
the architect who designed Wean (originally Science) Hall, a drab concrete block, was
so embarrassed he threw himself down the open space in this stairwell, which reaches
from the third to the eighth floor. Of course, I consider that an urban legend.

In the late '80s and early '90s, there was a chalk or painted outline of a person down
at the bottom which would periodically be removed by the authorities but always quickly
reappeared. Currently, there is a poem written in charcoal on the edge of the landings
on each floor, reading downward:
8: If you're feeling like a jerk,
7: 'cause your project just won't work,
6: Go ahead, and take the leap,
5: Then you'll finally get some sleep.
4: Burma Shave

Minolta DiMAGE A1
1/13s f/2.8 at 13.4mm iso400 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time30-May-2006 16:12:59
MakeMinolta
ModelDiMAGE A1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length13.4 mm
Exposure Time1/13 sec
Aperturef/2.8
ISO Equivalent400
Exposure Bias
White Balance
Metering Mode
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Guest 02-Jun-2006 20:41
great capture and story line!
Christin Tröger02-Jun-2006 07:12
Great shot, interresting story.