# Thos big cranes on top of tall buildings... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 1999, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thos-big-cranes-on-top-of-tall-buildings/4551 "1999-11-06T16:13:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patricinus_Scriblerus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 1999, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thos-big-cranes-on-top-of-tall-buildings/4551/1 "1999-11-06T16:13:00Z")
I live in a city that is booming right now and there is a lot of construction in the downtown. How the heck do they get those big cranes on top on the tall buidings (30+ stories)? How do they get them to go up with the building? AND most importantly…how do they get it all down?? * * * There are only two things that are infinite…the Universe and Man’s stupidity…I’m not sure about the Universe though. ---
**Author:** ![Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patricinus_Scriblerus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 1999, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thos-big-cranes-on-top-of-tall-buildings/4551/2 "1999-11-06T16:16:00Z")
Oooops forgot to spell check before I posted…I do not want to be mistaken for LUVROCK. My fingers just aren’t meant for typing… * * * There are only two things that are infinite…the Universe and Man’s stupidity…I’m not sure about the Universe though. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 1999, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thos-big-cranes-on-top-of-tall-buildings/4551/3 "1999-11-06T16:23:00Z")
## We posted on this one a month or three ago, and I’m sure its still floating around in UBBLand. However, I’m not going to try to search for it, as this computer gets all pissy when I do stuff like that. Jeremy… I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine - Kurt Vonnegut ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 1999, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thos-big-cranes-on-top-of-tall-buildings/4551/4 "1999-11-06T23:39:00Z")
I don’t remember seeing the thread, so I’m going to take a wild guess and say they’re bolted together in sections and can be removed by unbolting and sending it down the freight elevator piece by piece. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 1999, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thos-big-cranes-on-top-of-tall-buildings/4551/5 "1999-11-07T00:18:00Z")
I remember the old thread, but I don’t feel like spending 30-40 minutes digging for it. The cranes I’ve been watching in my neck of the woods are assembled on site by smaller cranes. And they aren’t on top of the buildings, they’re right up next to’em. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 1999, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thos-big-cranes-on-top-of-tall-buildings/4551/6 "1999-11-07T02:43:00Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/001851.html](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/001851.html) We aim to please. 🙂 * * * omniscientnot, in a previous incarnation. The hyphen says it all…