TOPPING OUT JUMP

JUMP recently celebrated a huge milestone - the Topping Out of the steel structure. To commemorate the momentous event, JUMP held a Topping Out Celebration that included the signing of the final and highest beam, an appreciation lunch and the hoisting of that final beam into place.

Nearly 300 contractors and others involved in the design attended the Topping Out Celebration to help make it a huge success. After a delicious BBQ lunch, Dan Drinkward of Hoffman Construction, along with Maggie Soderberg and Kathy O’Neill of JUMP, thanked everyone for their hard work and contributions to this project - from planning and design to the physical construction.  And finally the beam flew up six floors to rest on top on the Pioneer Room skylight.

As is tradition, the beam was painted white and topped by a small evergreen tree and the American flag.  Did you know that both the American flag and the evergreen tree both have symbolic meanings dating back hundreds of years?

The evergreen tree represents the natural resources used in construction. This can be traced to an ancient Scandinavian religious practice of placing a tree on the top of a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits of their ancestors that had been displaced by the construction of the building. The American flag represents the people, elevating an American flag at the Topping Out ceremony dates back more than a century, when steel framing became popular. Tradesmen began draping their work in American flags to show patriotism, to represent the American dream, to thank American soldiers, and to acknowledge a foundational product made in U.S.A.

Today, a non-religious but formal ceremony is often held to commemorate this milestone in the construction of a building. All tradesmen on the job join in the celebration as well as the supervisors, members of the architecture and engineering teams, and representatives of the hosting organization.

Click HERE to view a photo gallery from the Topping Out event! (A special thanks to our photographer, Michael McCullough, for taking all of these wonderful photos)

To watch the construction progress, click on the webcam on our website at www.jacksurbanmeetingplace.org.