Princeton city officials held a topping out ceremony for the new municipal building located within the Princeton Meadows subdivision last week to celebrate finishing the structure of the building.
The ceremony, held Feb. 24, is traditionally held when the last beam is placed atop the structure during construction.
Mayor Brianna Chacon said she wasn’t aware of the ceremony when City Manager Derek Borg asked if she was interested in holding one. She said she was surprised to learn the tradition dates back to an ancient Scandinavian religious rite of placing a tree on top of a new structure to appease tree-dwelling spirits displaced during construction. Now, the ceremony generally refers to finishing the structure of the building.
City officials and visitors signed the final beam which had a small tree placed on it, and everyone watched as a crane lifted it and placed it on the structure.
“I had no idea what to expect out of today,” Chacon said. “I’m pleasantly surprised.”
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By Dustin Butler • [email protected]
