To the joy of historical preservationists, a steel tower that stood over the location of the Civil War’s most famous battle was demolished today in an effort to restore the battlefield to its war-era appearance. The explosion lasted for only a split second.
The Gettysburg National Tower, which a private company opened in 1974 over the objections of park officials, fell on the 137th anniversary of Pickett’s Charge, the climactic standoff of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg. In that battle, Union forces turned back the charge of Confederate troops under the direct command of Gen. George Edward Pickett.
The bloody battle took place along Cemetery Ridge, a short distance from the tower site and many historians see it as the turning point of the Civil War. Although there were casualties of nearly 60 percent, Pickett’s rebel troops broke the line but were unable to hold their position.
Demolition of the tower was part of a National Park Service campaign to remove modern structures built on the battlefield. In June, a federal judge ruled in favor of the government in a lawsuit seeking permission for control of the site and took the tower away from its former owners, Overview Limited Partnership. According to Overview Limited Partnership, the tower measured 393 feet from its base to the tip of an antenna at its top.
Restoring Sacred Ground
Before the tower’s fall, National Park officials and preservationists called the demolition the first step towards restoring a sacred land in United States history .
“This is truly a great day for everyone who cares about our nation’s sacred ground,” said park superintendent John Latschar. Preservationists said the historical importance of Gettysburg required the correction of past “mistakes” by the government that allowed the modern intrusions.
“To a preservationist, demolition is almost always an ugly word,” said Richard Moe, the president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “But not today. Today, we’re doing something right.”
Controlled Demolition Inc., a family-run company, performed the demolition. The company offered to perform the demolition for free, prompting the park service to press for condemnation of the tower by the company’s July 3 deadline. The government set aside $3 million to compensate the former owners of the tower and the land it sits on, although the precise amount will be determined later by a judge.
The company said its demolition work for the project would normally cost about $75,000, although the park service claimed in a court filing that the work would save the government $1 million. Park officials said the higher cost referred to the cost of disassembling the tower piece by piece.
‘Criminal Vandalism’
Beyond demolishing the tower, the park plans to restore fences, orchards and lanes that were present in 1863 and remove modern buildings that sit on the battlefield.
Although welcomed by historic preservationists, the demolition is not without its critics, most notably the engineer who designed the structure.
Joel H. Rosenblatt told The Baltimore Sun that destroying the tower was “criminal vandalism.”
“This thing is more than just another tower,” he said. “It is unusual engineering design, and it’s worth saving. It deserves attention for itself.”
Rosenblatt said the tower was unusual enough that he took out patents on its shape and construction. The tower, which consisted of a four-level viewing area in the shape of an octagon, was supported by a latticework of battleship gray steel.
Civil War reenactors standby to fire a cannon to simulate the demolition of the National Tower on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Gettysburg, Pa. Monday, July 3, 2000. The 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 AP