This is HPL:
The most distinctive feature of the building, as you are no doubt noticing, is the tower on the roof. HPL was built in 1978, and the tower was meant to house the HVAC, which the builders intended to be powered by solar panels.
That didn’t work out.
Since then, they’ve put a couple different HVAC systems up there. The current one works most of the time, although I seem to wind up climbing into the tower once a week or so to reset a unit that isn’t working. That usually does the trick. And when I say climbing? I mean climbing. Here’s the ladder:
Most often when I climb that thing, I’m in a skirt and heels. Because I’m hardcore like that.
Up in the tower, it looks kind of like Freddy Krueger’s basement:
There are dripping pipes and lots of places to climb and hide. There’s also a lot of stuff up there that serves no purpose, like this water tank:
And also this set of gauges that I love so much I’d like to move them down to my office:
Wouldn’t those look awesome on my office wall? Of course they would.
Another thing you can do from the tower is walk out on to the roof, which is the sort of thing I enjoy. I may bring a lawn chair in this summer and see if I can catch the wifi up there with my laptop.
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7 Comments
Oh, I KNEW there was something awesome under that weirdly shaped tower-y thing! Freddy Kreuger! Hardcore ladders! Sunroof access!
All good things.
Exactly. At HPL, that’s what we consider “charm.”
that Freddy Krueger’s basement thing would put me off from ever going up there. Creepy, er, charming.
How about a rooftop garden? Think of it as revenue enhancement or at the very least, an awesome salad bar!
Olivia, No, it’s cool! One of the other staff members says it looks like the owlery in Harry Potter, which it kind of does, too.
Terri, That would be awesome!
I vote for the roof top garden, I’m even willing to donate plants. Of course that means we get to have lunch up there.
Gauges on your office wall would be outstandingly steampunk!