Safety Deposit Building

T-Bone and I were walking through some construction hoarding, in front of a building, and noticed a pair of doors plastered with "No Trespassing" and security signs. Jokingly, I tried the doors, and nearly couldn't believe it when one of them swung open. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity, we scurried inside, and stared in shock at the interior.
We stood underneath an ornate staircase, leading up to a second storey balcony that overlooked a huge room. The room was filled with construction supplies and equipments, all sitting on a plywood floor that had been laid down over the marble underneath. Tall pillars rose from floor to ceiling, surrounding the large open space. Walking inside, I turned to look up at the ceiling, and nearly fell over backwards at what I saw. Beautiful and incredibly ornate, the ceiling was mostly gold-colored; the centre had been divided into twelve separate squares, and each of these held a detailed provincial shield. It was one of the most incredible decorative ceilings I've ever seen.
From the balconies at either end of the room, the view was fantastic, and I wished I could have seen the room before the conversions began. Now, a layer of dust coated everything, and some horrible construct was being built in the center of the room.
Also in the center of the room was a large staircase, leading down into the basement. Stepping down, I could scarcely believe my eyes. Ahead, behind a cage of iron bars, was the largest vault door I've ever seen. I don't think I could have imagined what we found in the basement. Most of the space was taken up by a huge, two-storey, isolated black metal vault. Two vaults in one (one up, one down), each had a massive, circular door. Each door was over two feet thick, with a single, gargantuan hinge, and a large wheel to retract the bracing bars. Inside, the vaults were empty, but had a solid, impenetrable metallic atmosphere. Standing inside, it felt stronger than a reinforced, concrete-walled tunnel deep underground.
There was also a smaller, normal vault in the basement, and the remains of an elevator. There were lots of iron-bar dividing walls, and the other walls were tiled. A ladder led down into a small chamber, which was probably a giant sump pit. The rest of the bsmt, beyond the vault area, was pretty bare and essentially empty.
T-Bone had to leave, but I stayed to explore the rest of the building. After checking out the balconies again, I decided to slip back outside and take a walk around to get a look at the exterior of the building. It turned out to be quite nice- about eight stories tall, decorated, with a stone exterior. I was disgusted to see a tall, thin, condo tower rising off its west side; as if it were some horrible tumurous growth. It did, however, explain all the construction going on inside.
Going back into the building, I had only gone a few steps inside before I noticed the security guard standing at the back door. Luckily, he didn't see me, and I ducked behind a pile of drywall? as he turned and came inside. Spotting the guard put me instantly on edge, but I made the decision to carry on exploring the building, albeit more cautiously.
I crept into the basement, carefully planning each step across the creaky plywood flooring. I made my way over to the nearest staircase into the new condo tower, and took it up. Sadly, I discovered that all the floors of the old building had been converted and drywalled into boring condos. Deciding to head for the eight (top) floor, I climbed up more stairs. Heading into the old building from the condo, I emerged into a beautiful, only semi-destroyed floor. Two stories tall, the center of the room was open, surrounded by offices and a mezzanine. The offices had matching wood everything- doors, frames, wall paneling- all with decorative touches. It had no doubt once been a beautiful, posh office setting. A particularly large room at the far end of the floor had a fireplace, and an ornate ceiling. This room's floor was occupied by wood ripped from the other rooms, as well as several chandeliers.
After looking out of the windows from the mezzanine, I decided to take the stairs up another level to get a view from the roof. At the condo tower's 15th storey, I was able to get a few good photos, before I had to rush to leave to meet someone. I regret not being able to roof the condo tower under construction, since it was about 30 stories tall. But the rest of what I did get to see was amazing.