Small-town Ingenuity

Faces of Old-Fashion Towers

The Water Tower Should Come Down, reported The NewsChief  about how local commissioners felt towards their $56,000, annual golden egg, but now they want to give it away.  What led the commissioners to consider this unfortunate path?

2013

The commissioners lack of oversight of the tower for over a decade?  The city manager's neglect towards its maintenance during that same period of time?  The simple desire for new over old?  (Need we keep going?)

Regardless of the reason, the town of Davenport will likely soon be losing its iconic tower through all faults of their own.  Without real time to consider the future of the tower, commissioners have painted themselves into a corner and now have to deal with the tower "as soon as possible."

Given this scenario, they may be unable to consider building a replica, keeping the income it generates and pouring that income back into this little town.  But no!  Commissioners are considering replacing the landscape with something that will no longer speak of Davenport's history.

What was long ago a symbol of newness to Davenport will once again give way to a new newness in the form of a "monopole."  Pause.  Rewind.

2013

You see, it might not always be good to be new, especially if your an old place, like the historic area of Davenport.  (Historic Davenport is old, at least by Florida standards.)

2012 - Downtown Disney

With any future demolition, these images of the tower will be one of the last few to represent a bygone era, when Historic Davenport was the place to be, a heyday that can't be replaced by demolishing all of the old and bringing in the new ~ with all its lack of character ~ and foisting it on a landscape that will say, well, say nothing.  It would be wise for commissioners to re-consider their opinions and not allow for anymore of Davenport's history to be lost to lack of maintenance.

For re-print rights to these images, please contact GDG III Photo at 813-900-0950.  Ask for the Davenport images, as there're more.

Reference:  Commission: Water Tower Should Come Down,  The NewsChief.