[Updated] Steeple watch

Multiple readers shared this dramatic view this morning from atop the steeple at Middle Collegiate Church on Second Avenue at Seventh Street...

... the top three were from an anonymous reader... the next two are via Cecil Scheib...

... and by Jason Trucco...

Yesterday marked the first day of demolition at the fire-damage façade. 

As Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church, previously told us, this is a combination demolition-salvage operation. Workers will be sifting through the remains of the building, initially completed in 1892, to save any of the limestone and ironwork for use in the new sanctuary that will eventually rise on the property. 

The façade’s arch will reportedly remain untouched. 

The six-alarm fire that started in the empty apartment building next door early on Dec. 5, 2020, destroyed many of the church's historic elements, such as the Tiffany-stained glass windows. (The church's Liberty Bell was preserved and is temporarily at the New York Historical Society.)

Demolition work is expected to last two-to-three months.

Updated: 

And a look by the end of the day... via Jacob Ford...

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Workers prepping to remove the remains of the fire-damaged façade at Middle Collegiate Church

• The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished