Aug. 26--Is the sky falling on Center City?

For at least the third time in less than three months, large chunks of a building's facade crashed to the sidewalk yesterday morning. No one was harmed.

Two masonry panels fell from the sixth floor of the block-long building on the north side of the 1100 block of Chestnut Street about 3 a.m., police said.

On Aug. 5, bricks rained from the top of a six-story building on the southwest corner of 16th and Chestnut Streets. No one was injured, but morning rush-hour drivers were diverted.

On June 3, three sections of a marble facade fell from the top of a building at 1619 Walnut St. and showered debris; no one was injured. The panels, about three by six feet each, fell about 80 feet from a building that once housed KYW-TV and the studio for The Mike Douglas Show.

Yesterday, Councilmen Frank DiCicco and Jim Kenney announced that they would introduce legislation Sept. 17 in Council that will require exterior building maintenance and inspections.

"Property owners need to guarantee that passersby are safe," Kenney said in a prepared statement. "It's our responsibility to create stronger regulations and protect the general public."

If passed, the legislation will require that the exterior of any building six stories or taller be inspected every five years by an engineer or registered architect.

If a building is found unsafe, the property owner would be required to make repairs within 30 days.

Contact staff writer Sam Wood at 215-854-2796 or at samwood@phillynews.com.

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