Two monuments honor the 28 workers killed in a 1987 construction accident at the L’Ambiance Plaza apartment complex in Bridgeport.
At the Washington Avenue accident site, a seven-foot statue of a construction worker honors the 28 workers killed, and the 22 injured, when the L’Ambiance Plaza building collapsed halfway through construction on April 23, 1987.
The names of the accident victims are listed on a dedication plaque on the monument’s base.
An 81-unit apartment building was built on the site in 1992, and the memorial to the L’Ambiance Plaza was dedicated a year later. The statue was created by Old Lyme artist Norman Legassie.
The L’Ambiance Plaza workers, and volunteers who participated in a 10-day rescue and recovery effort, are also honored with a monument about a third of a mile away in City Hall Park.
A bronze plaque lists the workers killed in the accident, and four helmets sit at the monument’s base. A granite marker, added in June of 2010, honors one of the rescue workers.
The L’Ambiance Plaza tragedy attracted international attention. At the time of its collapse, the complex was being built with the “lift-slab” construction method, in which concrete floor slabs were poured on the ground and raised into position.
After the L’Ambiance Plaza collapse, lift-slab construction fell out of favor and has not been used since.
Tags: Bridgeport