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Stairway to Heaven: 1909

Vicksburg, Mississippi, circa 1909. "Vicksburg National Military Park. New concrete observatory tower." Which looks something like the Tower of Babel as designed by Dr. Seuss. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.

Vicksburg, Mississippi, circa 1909. "Vicksburg National Military Park. New concrete observatory tower." Which looks something like the Tower of Babel as designed by Dr. Seuss. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.

 

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Wind damage

I also grew up not far from Vicksburg. In the 1950s a tornado damaged the towers. I don't think the Park Service had the budget to repair them.

Love It

That tower is the best thing EVER!

Two sides

Our family visited the Vicksburg park when I was a kid in the '60s. I don't recall the observation tower, but the thing that stuck in my mind were the roads through the massive park: On the side the Confederates controlled, they were paved; on Northern soil, just gravel.

Loved those towers

I grew up in a town not far from Vicksburg and our boy scout troop attended camporees in the park. We would hike around the park and of course climb those observation towers. As far as I am concerned, the park lost some of its interest when they tore those old towers down.

Winding tower

A quick google search turned up very little about this tower and its siblings. I did find this: "This observation, or winding tower, as we called it, was located on Old Jackson Road in the National Military Park and was one of three such structures built to provide views of the landscape. One was on Confederate Avenue near All Saints' school and another was near Fort Nogales. The towers, erected by the federal government, were made of concrete and steel and eventually were demolished because of deterioration and being deemed unsafe. The last one came down in the early 1960's."

Kind of a shame they were demolished. They were a heck of a lot prettier than the "classroom in the sky" at Gettysburg, which looked like an airport tower.

What became of it?

Spent the last 20 minutes Googling this thing. Not a lot of info out there. Just some pics of old postcards featuring its likeness. Curious to know when it was torn down.

Where are the bride and groom at the top?

This looks a lot like a wedding cake, but it has no filling. Must be the low calorie variety.

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