Rosbergs demolition begins

The first full day of demolition on the Rosbergs' building began today, Oct.26, 2009. (ie. the first day of the final demolition phase, after the previous work that was done on the site during the fire marshall's investigation)
An excavator started working its way from the rear, knocking down the steel beams, pulling them out of the basement, and piling them at the rear of the lot.
Towards the late afternoon, though, there was this bit of an unexpected difficulty, see video. . .

. . . where, while pulling out some steel beams, the excavator sunk into a part of the basement. The operator emerged by climbing out of an access hatch on the cab's roof, and was OK.
above: Oct.26, 2009, the excavator seen stuck in the basement.
Note the old Customs building (in the right distance, at Park St. and Zimmerman Ave.) is now visible from the corner of Erie Ave. and Queen St., probably for the first time in over a hundred years!
above: Oct.26, 2009 - looking west from the rear of the old Rosberg site; Queen St. runs along the left. Note workers at the left, looking at the excavator, which sits tilted at a steep angle in the debris. Click on photos to enlarge! Photos by R. Bobak