The Gettysburg National Tower was a 307-foot (94 m) hyperboloid observation tower that overlooked the Gettysburg National Military Park and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from 1974-2000. The commercial tower attracted many of the battlefield's visitors and was seized by eminent domain and demolished.
The tower was built in 1974 on private land adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park by real-estate developer Thomas R. Ottenstein. It was opposed by many, including the National Park Service, historical preservationists, and locals. The governor of Pennsylvania at the time, Milton Shapp, led unsuccessful lawsuits against construction of the tower.
A law passed in 1990 claimed the lands as part of the park and in June 2000 a federal judge gave park officials permission to seize the tower with $3 million given as compensation to the owners. The Gettysburg National Tower was demolished with explosives by Controlled Demolition, Inc. for the National Park Service on July 3, 2000, the 137th anniversary of the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
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