Lake Placid Tower

The Lake Placid Tower in Lake Placid, Florida,[1] formerly named Placid Tower, Tower of Peace or Happiness Tower, is a closed observation tower 240 feet (73.2 m) tall according to early sources (before 1982)[2][3][4][5][6] or 270 feet (82.3 m) tall according to late sources (after 1986).[7][8][9][10][11] However, no physical modification of the tower occurred in the interim that would explain a 30-foot increase in height. It rests on ground 142 feet (43 m) above sea level (NAVD 88).[12] As a warning to aircraft, the top of the tower, including antennae, is stated to be 392 feet (119.5 m) above sea level by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).[13] Thus, the height of the tower above ground, including antennae, is 250 feet (76.2 m) (392–142=250), which excludes a 270-foot architectural height, allowing only a 240-foot architectural height. Counting the tower's 8-inch (20.3 cm) courses yields a height above ground of 235–236 feet (71.6–71.9 m),[14] so the lowest few feet of the 240-foot height, those resting on the foundation, are underground, providing space for an elevator pit. According to early sources,[2][15] it has three observation levels, at 192 feet (58.5 m) behind windows, at 200 feet (61.0 m) on an open air balcony, and at 225 feet (68.6 m) in the open air crow's nest, Eagle's Nest, or Birds eye vantage point on top of the elevator shaft but below roof tracery.[16][14][17] The apex of the tower is a flashing red aircraft warning light.[18][19] The tower is 360 feet (110 m) above sea level according to two late sources,[7][8] the latter stating that that elevation applies to the eagle's nest, which is consistent with the crow's nest elevation of early sources (142+225=367≈360). The tower offered a 40-mile (65 km) panoramic view.[9]

Lake Placid Tower
Southwest corner
Location within Florida
Former namesPlacid Tower
Tower of Peace
Happiness Tower
General information
StatusAbandoned
TypeObservation tower
Address467 US HWY 27 N
Town or cityLake Placid, Florida
Coordinates27°18′3.7″N 81°21′26.1″W
Elevation142 feet (43 m)
Construction started1960
Construction stopped1960
OpenedJanuary 1, 1961
Closedc. November 6, 2003
Cost$350,000 (equivalent to $2,400,000 in 2019)
OwnerCHL Tower Group
Height
Architectural240 feet (73 m)
Tip250 feet (76 m)
Observatory225 feet (68.6 m)
200 feet (61.0 m)
192 feet (58.5 m)
Dimensions
Diameter25 feet 4 inches (7.72 m) square
Technical details
MaterialConcrete block
Limestone tile
Reinforced concrete
Lifts/elevators1
Grounds2.27 acres (0.92 ha)
Design and construction
ArchitectA. Wynn Howell
DeveloperAir View Corporation
(Earnest Oakley Hunt
and Robert Gray)
Main contractorRidge Builders

Earnest Oakley Hunt[20] dreamed of building an observation tower when he moved to Orlando in 1938, then moved to Sebring in 1947 and found the perfect location in nearby Lake Placid. He and Robert Gray formed Air View Corporation to build the tower.[2] The tower was designed by architect A. Wynn Howell[16][21] of Lakeland, built by Ridge Builders of Sebring in 1960 for $350,000 (equivalent to $2,400,000 in 2019),[9] and opened January 1, 1961.[2] Most sources state that it was the tallest concrete block structure in the world when it opened,[2][3][4][9][11][8] with 90,000 concrete blocks,[9][2][22] but the magazine Florida Architect states that it was built of reinforced concrete.[16][23][24] One source states that the tower included 100,000 limestone blocks from Ocala[2] while another states that it was faced with ceramic tile,[16] implying that the tower has a facade of limestone tile. The tower below the balcony is 25 feet 4 inches (7.72 m) square, with its four vertical corners replaced by grooves (each 8 inches (20 cm) per side).[14] The section above the balcony is 21 feet (6.40 m) square, also with corner grooves. Each wall is divided into vertical thirds. The outer thirds are composed of reinforced concrete blocks with a facade of limestone tile.[25] The middle thirds are composed of decorative breeze or fence concrete blocks, which can only support themselves.[26] The tower has a foundation made from 520 cubic yards (400 m3) of concrete reinforced with 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg) of steel.[2] The tracery atop the tower is made of gold anodized aluminum.[16][18][27]

Because of low ticket sales, the tower closed in 1982 when the owner would not pay their Internal Revenue Service taxes, but it was re-opened in 1986. The small group of owners still faced sluggish sales, and the tower and its restaurant continued to struggle, despite features such as a petting zoo in its plaza, and a pay phone at the top billed as the "highest pay phone in Florida."[9][11] The last owner who operated the tower as a tourist attraction was Lake Placid Tower Group owned by Mark Cambell since 1992.[28][7] He sold it to CHL Tower Group on November 6, 2003 which operated it as a cell phone tower until 2019.[29][30] Even though the tower closed about 2003, it still has two red "OPEN" signs at its top, facing north and south.[9] Originally, the tower above the balcony had the same basic design scheme as that below it. But after the tower closed, the portion of the tower from the balcony up was redesigned with a white and cyan (blue-green) color scheme. The limestone tile of the outer thirds of the walls was covered with white stucco, and the middle thirds were covered with thin cyan-colored panels which blocked the bird's eye view.[31][32][33] These panels covered the two opposing triangular openings (top and bottom) in the middle third of each wall and the breeze or fence blocks[26] between them. The roof tracery above and the balcony below them were also painted cyan. The Tower View restaurant at the base of the tower closed in 2015.[29][9] The tower has been abandoned since 2020.[34][35][36] The tower is among 35 designated Lake Placid historic structures.[37] It is one of three towers in Central Florida, including the Citrus Tower, built in 1956, 100 miles (160 km) to the north in Clermont, and Bok Tower,[38] built in 1929, 50 miles (80 km) to the north in Lake Wales.

References
  1. The tower is located at 467 US Highway 27 N between Tower Street and Lake Clay Drive S, where 467 is the address of CHL Tower Group, the owner next door.
  2. Kimberly D. Hinder, "Florida's Earliest Tourist Towers: Placid Tower", Looking beyond the highway: Dixie roads and culture, ed. Claudette Stager and Martha Carver, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 2006. Cites Sebring News articles from early 1961. "either an enclosed observation deck at 192 feet or an open observation deck at 200 feet ... the crow's nest, which was 225 feet above ground. Lauded as the world's tallest concrete-block structure when it opened, the tower topped off at 240 feet". "A. Wynne Howell" (sic).
  3. HTN archival postcard 8, "Placid Tower ... World's tallest concrete block Observation Tower –240 feet high–".
  4. Florida Memory PC13475, "world's tallest concrete block observation tower – 240 feet high – ", "Aug 13, 1965".
  5. Florida Almanac, 1st edition (1972, p. 408), 2nd edition (1976, p. 336). "Tower of Peace is a 240-foot observation pinnacle". Later editions do not mention the tower.
  6. Al Burt, Florida: A Place in the Sun, 1974, p 171. "Lake Placid Tower (240 feet)".
  7. HTN Tower Story "Two Hundred and Seventy Feet", "Three Hundred and Sixty".
  8. Bruce Hunt, Visiting Small-Town Florida, Pineapple Press, Sarasota, Florida, 2003, page 136. "270-foot-high Placid Tower." "Eagle's Nest is 360 feet above sea level".
  9. Joey Vars, "Forgotten Tourist Tower" Crow's Nest. The e-print version of this article, by Joey Vars, is at "Forgotten Tourist Tower", Feb 2–8, 2015, Volume 49, Issue 19, p. 4. "At 270 feet high," "A. Wyatt Howell" (sic).
  10. Sandra Friend, Trish Riley & Kathy Wolf, South Florida: An Explorer's Guide, second edition, 2010, Countryman Press, Woodstock, Vermont, p. 185, "tower reaches a height of 270 feet".
  11. "Placid Tower" Road Redux, "270-foot high structure".
  12. US Topo, Lake Placid, FL, 2015, USGS. Save then open to access images button at upper left.
  13. Miami Sectional Aeronautical Chart, Scale 1:500,000, 1 FEB 2018, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). PDF 69.3 MB.
  14. Photos from above: Aerial photography and drone services (April 2017), Happiness Tower - Lake Placid FL. Drone survey of tower.
  15. HTN archival postcard 2; "three viewing decks; closed at 192 ft. open 200 ft. eagles nest 225 ft."
  16. "Architectural Helps for Tourism", Florida Architect, 12/7, July 1962. "Built of reinforced concrete faced with ceramic tile and capped by roof tracery of gold anodized aluminum"
  17. The tower does not have a traditional flat roof. Instead, the four corners of the tower and the elevator shaft project above the balcony with only a stair and landing on successive sides between them. The corners have small roofs to which the roof tracery is attached. The elevator shaft, 8 feet (2.4 m) square, is topped by a central air conditioning unit and a tall fence made of vertical bars along its edge, both in the open air. The four corners are separated from the elevator shaft by a gap of about 6 feet (2 m), except at stairs and landings. The top of the elevator shaft within its fence was the floor of the Eagle's Nest, with views toward the north, east, south, and west through triangular openings in the top of the middle third of each wall. It was reached by climbing three flights of stairs.
  18. HTN archival postcard 4, shows roof tracery of gold anodized aluminum partly reflecting the sky. "Tower of Peace".
  19. Twilight view of Lake Placid Citrus Tower by Phantom 3. December 30, 2015. Drone view.
  20. Earnest Oakley Hunt (1899–1976), FamilySearch
  21. Placid Tower under construction "A. Wynn Howell" on sign.
  22. 90,000 concrete blocks are more than twice the number needed to build the above ground portion of the tower. The remaining blocks must have been used to build the one story buildings adjacent to the tower and the tower's foundation, with some extra to replace broken blocks.
  23. The concrete blocks in the corners of the tower as well as those in the walls of the elevator shaft are so tall their vertical holes must be reinforced with grout and rebar. The breeze or fence blocks of the middle third of each wall are decorative.
  24. Carter, Tim, "How to Reinforce Concrete Block", Ask the Builder, retrieved July 31, 2018
  25. The corners probably have two layers (wythes) of concrete blocks, interlocked by cross blocks, required by such a tall structure for rigidity.
  26. Breeze or fence blocks have side to side openings, here shaped x̅x̅, long dimension vertical. The most common US concrete block, regular or fence, has modular dimensions, block plus mortar joint, of 8 by 8 by 16 inches (20.3 cm × 20.3 cm × 40.6 cm). Each block is 3⁄8 inch (1.0 cm) shorter in each dimension to allow for mortar joints.
  27. The tracery is lattice shaped like a cross-gable roof, each roof as wide as the middle third of a wall and a little longer than the width of a wall with a peak angle of 80°. A pyramid of lattice the same height and width is above the junction of the two roofs, with its edges meeting the peaks of the roofs and its sides extending down between them. The aircraft warning light is atop the pyramid's peak.
  28. Lake Placid Tower Group 1992 deed, Highlands County Property Appraiser, "Consideration: $240,000.00".
  29. Evan Williams, Driving Florida's Backroads, Bonita Springs Florida Weekly, May 21, 2015. "a defunct restaurant at its base. ... where people once ate,"
  30. CHL Tower Group 2003 deed, Highlands County Property Appraiser, "Consideration: $1,190,000.00" "6th day of November, 2003".
  31. Bruce Hunt, Southwest view of top of tower in 2009.
  32. 2018 Citrus Tower in Lake Placid FL by TxJim. May 12, 2018.
  33. In some years all of the top wall openings are covered, while in other years only one may be.
  34. Leatherman, Kim (Jan 16, 2019), Happiness Tower falling down?, YourSun.com
  35. Leatherman, Kim (Dec 28, 2019), LP Elks get tower of cell phone power, Highlands News-Sun, The 175-foot monopole was placed ... in the parking lot of Elks Lodge 2661 ... about one month ago. The new cell phone tower for Sprint, AT&T, T-mobile and Verizon is about 1,000 feet (300 m) SSE of the Lake Placid Tower.
  36. Leatherman, Kim (Dec 28, 2019), LP Elks get tower of cell phone power [Photo of tapered cylindrical monopole with antennae near top but without guy wires], Highlands News-Sun.
  37. Town of Lake Placid (January 14, 2013), 2030 Comprehensive Plan (PDF), Historic Resources Map
  38. Bok Tower was never intended to be an observation tower.
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