National Tower Imploded in Gettysburg National Park
and a National Park Service Press Release Concerning Tower Condemnation
And the Tower came tumbling down on the 137th anniversary of the battle - July 3, 2000! One down-- two to go-- the current visitor and cyclorama centers at Gettysburg will be the next to be demolished. May the men of the 136 NYSV Infantry, who died as a result of the battle and are buried in Gettysburg's Soldiers National Cemetery, finally rest in peace (along with all others buried in those cemeteries). The polka music coming from the Tower is history and justice has finally been served.
1970s Tower at Gettysburg
Demolished
by George Strawley, Associated Press- July 4, 2000
GETTYSBURG, Pa. - A 1970s steel observation tower that preservationists say desecrated the hallowed ground of Gettysburg was demolished Monday on the anniversary of the battle that saved the Union.
The 393-foot tower was blown up with 10 pounds of explosives as part of a National Park Service campaign to remove modern structures and return the Gettysburg Battlefield to the way it looked in 1863.
The $2.5 million tower, erected on private land on the edge of the national
park, opened to tourists in 1974 over the objection of park officials. Last
month, a federal judge ruled the government could seize the site. The government
set aside $3 million to compensate the owners.
Monday, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt led the countdown. Civil War buffs
staging an annual war re-enactment fired off two artillery pieces, one Union and
one Confederate, that were pointed at the tower.
A moment later, as smoke from the cannons swirled, the explosives at the base
of the tower were detonated, and the structure collapsed into a parking lot.
The demolition came 137 years to the day after Union forces turned back
Pickett's Charge, a Confederate assault led by Gen. George Edward Pickett.
For preservationists, the destruction of the Gettysburg National Tower was a
fitting end for a structure many considered an abomination on a landscape that
was dedicated by President Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address.
"To a preservationist, demolition is almost always an ugly word," said
Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "But not
today. Today, we're doing something right."
The tower consisted of a four-level viewing area in the shape of an octagon,
supported by a latticework of battleship gray steel. Many of Gettysburg's nearly
2 million visitors each year took an elevator up the tower to get a bird's-eye
view of the battlefield.
"We're just anxious to see the monstrosity go down. It destroys the
authenticity of the battlefield," said David Holtzclaw, a history buff who
showed up to get a front seat for the demolition. "When you try to picture in
your mind what happened here 137 years ago, that destroys it. I'm happy to see
it go."
The National Park Service also plans to restore fences, orchards and lanes
that were present in 1863 and remove modern buildings that sit on the
battlefield.
The demolition was opposed by the tower's engineer and former owners.
The above article was from the July 4, 2000 Buffalo News. The Internet source URL for this and other related articles follow:
The best editorial on the topic was in the July 2, 2000 USA TODAY, to quote the finale of "Boom Times":
The private sector has a role in the
future of the nation's parks. But as the tower at Gettysburg crumbles into
1,000 tons of twisted steel, park managers, local planners and developers alike
need to remember that enhancing a park experience is different from exploiting
it. The former can be a blast; the latter merely invites
one.
-
NEWS
RELEASE��������� U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
����
���� NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
����
����
BACKGROUNDER
����
����
CONTACT:��� KATIE LAWHON (National Park
Service)
����������������
717-334-1124 x452
���� OR:� US ATTORNEY
DAVID BARASCH (Department of
Justice)
����������������
717-221-4482
����
����
���� NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IDENTIFIES
ACQUISITION
���� OF GETTYSBURG NATIONAL TOWER
AS TOP PRIORITY
����
��������� Gettysburg,
Pa., December 9, 1999 --� The National Park
���� Service� (NPS)� applauds the
Department of Justice's filing of a
����
complaint in condemnation today at the United States District
���� Court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.�
The action is the first
���� formal legal step
in the federal government's acquisition of� a
���� privately owned 307-foot observation
tower that overlooks the
���� Gettysburg
battlefield.
����
��������� The Tower
is located on land that is important to the story
���� of the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg,
July 1-3, 1863. Union
���� Troop movements
occurred on the land, located immediately behind
���� the Federal main defensive position on
Cemetery Ridge.
����
��������� In
1974,� the Gettysburg National Tower opened as a private
���� tourist attraction.� Due to the
national significance of the
���� property, in
1990 federal legislation added the Tower property to
���� Gettysburg National Military Park,
administered by the NPS.� In
���� 1993
after public review, the NPS published a Land Protection Plan
���� that identified the Tower property as a
high priority for
���� acquisition. The 2000
Interior Appropriation bill which President
���� Clinton signed on November 29 provides
$1.6 million for federal
���� land acquisition
at Gettysburg.� Upon successful acquisition, the
���� NPS plans to remove the Tower and restore
the property to its 1863
���� appearance.
����
��������� Established
in 1895, Gettysburg National Military Park is
���� the location of the great Civil War
Battle that repulsed the
���� second
Confederate invasion of the North.� The mission of the NPS
���� at the park is to preserve and protect
the resources associated
���� with the Battle
of Gettysburg and the Soldier's National Cemetery
���� and provide an understanding of the
events that occurred there
���� within the
context of American History.
����
������������������������
-NPS-
����
___________________________________________________________
���� Gettysburg National Military
Park������ 97 Taneytown Road,
���� Gettysburg,����
Pennsylvania 17325
����
����
���� U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
���� NATIONAL PARK
SERVICE
���� GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY
PARK
����
����
GETTYSBURG NATIONAL TOWER
����
���� CONTACT:�����
KATIE LAWHON (National Park
Service)
������������������
717-334-1124 x452
���� OR:� US ATTORNEY
DAVID BARASCH (Department of
Justice)
������������������
717 221-4482
����
����
Question: Why is the National Park Service condemning the
���� National
Tower?
����
����
Answer:� The Department of Justice, on behalf of the United
���� States government, has filed a complaint
in condemnation to
���� acquire the National
Tower so that the National Park Service can
���� accomplish its battlefield preservation
goals for Gettysburg
���� National Military
Park.
����
����
Question:� When was it filed and what is the
timeline?
����
����
Answer:� The complaint was filed on December 9, 1999, in United
���� States District Court in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania.� The timeline
���� for the
legal proceedings is uncertain.
����
���� Question: What will the National Park
Service do with the
����
property?
����
����
Answer: The National Park Service plans to remove the tower and
���� its associated modern development and
restore the land where the
���� tower was
built to its appearance in 1863 at the time of the
���� Battle of
Gettysburg.
����
����
-END-
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