Lincoln First Bank tower (also known as Chase Lincoln First Tower) was a building in downtown Rochester. Completed in 1973 by John Graham and Company of New York City, it was known for its structure failure, in which large sections of the marble facade crumbled under their own weight. The post-mortum on the event indicates that the marble had a abnormally high water retention weight, and the thickness on the slabs had been reduced during the design phase.
This left very thin slabs of marble, which absorb more water (and pollutants, etc) out of the air than the nominal values in architecture reference books. Hence, they weakened, crumbled, and collapsed. The falling panels were the source of much local derision and kept the editorial cartoonists busy for a while. The sidewalks were blocked off while they were figuring out what to do with the panels, of course.
Painted sheets of plywood were used in the interim until a more permanent solution was eventually found. Ya' gotta love Rochester, and its crumbling buildings! (Across Stone Street from the South Avenue garage. Coincidence?)
An image via Monroe County Library A D&C Business Section Article, June 6, 2006 described a $21 million infusion at Chase Tower To participate in a survey on local architecture visit, Rochester Archipedia Survey