Amy's Architectural Afternoon At A Building Bar Mitzvah

An eagle-eyed tipster spotted Amy today attending a "topping out" ceremony for the new Nanotechnology Center on Walnut. Topping out, our architecture friends tell us, is a traditional ceremonial gathering to watch the installation of the last beam of a new building. Think of it as a Building Bar Mitzvah; a life-cycle milestone between breaking ground (the building's bris, if you will), and cutting the ribbon (the wedding...of Penn... to nanotechnology).

Here we see Amy in her signature red outfit on the left. Just kidding, that's a crane! Amy's somewhere in the crowd of indistinguishable architects and important-seeming people. We also have a really cool picture of the last beam and its random accessories after the jump that we promise you can actually see.

Yes, that's an American flag and a Christmas tree, because, according to Wikipedia, "While the ceremony itself has no standard agenda, it usually includes the placing of an evergreen tree upon the structure to symbolize growth and bring luck. State and national flags are often raised atop the structure"