Single Photo: The Impossible Crane & The Bank of Spain

[Felix Noille]

According to this document, this photo shows the first phase of the Bank of Spain's construction (located in Madrid). Wikipedia claims that building commenced on 4th July 1884 (the same day that the Statue of Liberty was 'presented' to the American Ambassador in Paris - another fake-photo-fest) and was finished by the 3rd March 1891. Perhaps the stars were in the perfect alignment on 4th July 1884 for fooling everyone with fake photos.

​

Firstly, the building looks pretty much complete for it being the first phase. Starting from the top and working down:

• Ghost chains on the topmost pulley of the crane (note the featureless 'vanilla' sky).​
• No one on the roof to either load or unload the cargo.​
• No visible means for the crane to rotate. Therefore it could only lift things that were already on the roof up and down.​
• Loads of people in their Jack-the-Ripper costumes, but hardly any workers.​
• Something seriously blurred near the centre of the photo by the fence side of the road.​
• If those are tramlines they are not parallel and there are no overhead cables.​
• Bottom right corner shows a ghostly donkey and cart floating just above the ox.​

This building is enormous and utterly magnificent inside and out. This seems to be the only available construction evidence, in which case I for one don't believe it. If that's the quality of their trick photography then there's no way they built that building.

Note: This OP was recovered from the Maxine archive.

Note: Archived Sh.org replies to this OP: Single Photo: The Impossible Crane & The Bank of Spain

 

[Jsallard]

On the picture above, in the sky, we can see a number : YA632 ? is this the ID of the photo ?

Also, is it possible that the first floor was already there for whatever reason and they built on the top of it ?

 

[Broken Agate]

•There appears to be a portion of a wall behind the bank. Part of a different structure, or part of the bank that was demolished?

•Everyone is wearing black except for one guy on the right, in a white suit.

•Note the HUGE doorway that is way out of proportion to the rest of the building. It goes nearly to the rooftop! As Jsallard said, they are constructing on top of something that was already there. I think the original top of the building was blasted off or otherwise severely damaged and had to be removed.

 

[JohnNada]

Not only do we see a featureless vanilla sky, but you can make out what appears to be brush marks throughout the sky, as though they brushed everything out quickly and didn’t take time to apply the proper coats.

 

[Felix Noille]

vanilla sky

I really love vanilla. It has amazing health benefits too. I don't understand why it has become the term to describe something 'plain'. This is stolen history in the making.

 

[Forrest]

The crane look ok from here, not impossible.

Ghost chains on the topmost pulley of the crane.
Looks like two scratches or other types of defects in the photo or its plate. There are also other defects not near the crane. The vertical block and tackle is a double purchase- one end of the cable is secured at the top pulley, drops down and around the lower load pulley, then back up and over the top pulley. It then passes along, or inside, the upper boom to a pulley at the boom pivot, then down to the winch. That part of the cable is visible.

No one on the roof to either load or unload the cargo.
This looks like a photo-op set up. The men in hats standing underneath are a major safety violation, even for pre-OSHA days. The ghost cart and smoky stuff on the street suggest a long exposure time, which also might explain the blown-out sky, So the people are stopped and posing for the photo for a minute or so. The crane is stopped with the load in mid-air for effect. No workers because these are the execs, etc. Exception is the two men in the winch house, there to control the setting up of the hanging load.

No visible means for the crane to rotate. Therefore it could only lift things that were already on the roof up and down.
The crane does not need to rotate, which is a feature of this design, not a bug. A rotating joint is weaker and more expensive. Instead, it runs back and forth on a railroad line set parallel to the face of the building. The blocks are stacked on the ground at the end of the line. away from us in the photo. The crane travels over to them, picks one up, then lifts it to the building height for clearance (bad thing here, oh well). The crane then moves toward us, bring the raised block over the 'roof', then lowers it onto the roof-to-become-floor.

Another item that suggests this is a photo-op setup- the load is carried much higher than necessary, like somebody is showing off. In operation, the block would only be raised high enough to clear the building, then the stevedores on the roof would be able to steady it as the crane moves along its track.

One minor objection- looks like the boom can cantilever out enough to tip over the crane; there's not much counterweight. Maybe it leans against the building in this case.

 

[Felix Noille]

Looks like two scratches or other types of defects in the photo or its plate.

They look just like chains to me.

One minor objection- looks like the boom can cantilever out enough to tip over the crane; there's not much counterweight. Maybe it leans against the building in this case.

So the building had to be there before the crane, otherwise the crane would have nothing to lean on and just fall over. Chicken - egg, egg - chicken? ?

 

[Forrest]

Looks like two scratches or other types of defects in the photo or its plate.

They look just like chains to me.

One minor objection- looks like the boom can cantilever out enough to tip over the crane; there's not much counterweight. Maybe it leans against the building in this case.

So the building had to be there before the crane, otherwise the crane would have nothing to lean on and just fall over. Chicken - egg, egg - chicken? ?

The first floor could be built without the crane, nor does the boom need to cantilever out in the first place. It only needs to place the load at the edge of the building.

 

[Felix Noille]

The first floor could be built without the crane,

And the second floor?

I'm getting a strong sense of deja vu here...

 

[JWW427]

Carnes are as old as the hills.
I used a lever crane when I worked in a boatyard when I was 18.
I really see no conspiracy here.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2YWfUi49bE

 

[hfriends]

Firstly, the building looks pretty much complete for it being the first phase. Starting from the top and working down:

Only the ground floor, the second is yet to be constructed