Vandal Destroys Union League Steps Overnight [UPDATED]

A CBS 3 cameraman films the steps of the Union League, which had a railing destroyed overnight | Photo: Dan McQuade

UPDATE 10/25: Police just released surveillance footage of the suspect. Click here to see the video.

ORIGINAL:

An apparent brass thief destroyed part of the steps of the Union League this morning.

Per the League’s spokeswoman, Erica Martin, at 3:02 a.m. a man was spotted ripping the brass railing off the steps on the right side of the buildings’s Broad Street entrance.

He pulled the brass railing off — the League has not yet said by what method — which destabilized the stone railing enough that it collapsed. Philadelphians gawked this morning at the steps of the Second Empire building, which was completed in 1865 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Union League is cooperating with Philadelphia Police and is sharing the 24-hour surveillance footage from outside the building. The steps have been roped off and are not currently safe to use. Martin said the League will work to have the steps restored “as soon as possible.”