Watch: Giant, illuminating ‘X’ sign taken down from headquarters after massive uproar
The giant and illuminating ‘X’ sign atop former Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters was dismantled on Monday (July 31) morning days after it was installed, following complaints about its safety and lack of permit.
Over the weekend, the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection received 24 complaints about the sign including "concerns about its structural safety and illumination”.
"I thought it was lightning, and I was very confused. I went to my window, I looked around, I didn't see anything. I thought it was maybe a police siren," resident Patricia Wallinga, who lives across the street, told CBS News.
After the rebranding announcement on July 23, the ‘X’ logo was hurriedly erected atop the building and was partly supported by sandbags.
Last week, the San Francisco police stopped workers from removing Twitter’s bird and vertical logo from the side of the building, saying they had not taped off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell.
On Friday, Musk installed a giant X on top of Twitter’s building, which according to nearby residents beamed white light into their apartments.
Later, the city opened a complaint and launched a probe on the day the sign went up after it deemed X “unsafe” because it was built without a safety permit.
“Any replacement letters or symbols would require a permit to ensure consistency with the historic nature of the building and to make sure additions are safely attached to the sign," a spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection told The Associated Press.
Department of Building Inspection spokesperson Patrick Hannan said that a city inspector tried to get to the building's roof when the complaints started pouring in but he was denied access twice.
In an interview with The Verge, Hannan said that no permit is needed to take down the logo but, "due to safety concerns, the permit can be secured after the structure is taken down."
He said that the building’s owner would be fined for “building permits for the installation and removal of the structure” and to cover the department’s inspection and investigation costs.
