Tower Records sign falls after storm

A South Street symbol has fallen. The two-story Tower Records sign broke off from the building and fell to the street at about 5 p.m. Saturday because of the weight of the snow, Tower Record's employee Kathleine Diange said. As a result, Tower, one of the largest record stores in Philadelphia, was closed for the rest of Saturday and did not reopen until 9 a.m. Sunday. Diange said that in addition, some of the sign fell onto the roof of Tower's neighbor, Foot Locker. When a crane was brought in to fully dismantle the sign, police blocked off the 600 block of South Street for over five hours. No one was hurt by the incident, Diange said, adding that a lot of spectators came to witness the fallen symbol. "I had a bad day until the sign fell off," she said. "Usually all the good things happened when I'm on shift. Diange added that she predicted the sign would come down one day because of the stress put on it through seven Philly winters. And she now has a memento of Tower history, thanks to a small piece of the sign she acquired after the collapse. She joked that she was annoyed, however, because her shift ended at 5 p.m., and the employees on the late shift were paid even though they did not have to work. Tower Sales Manager Joe Pile said he was shocked when he received a phone call telling him the about the fallen sign. "It was horror, shock and surprise," Pile side. "I'm really glad nobody got hurt and there was no property damage to speak of." Pile added that he was not sure when the company would get a new sign because Tower's parent company is headquartered in California.

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