architecture

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Can you hear me now?

Late last year Pruned shared a news report (well worth watching) on "cell phone towers in elaborate disguises," such as trees, cacti, water towers, and flag poles. That report came to mind the other day when I noticed from afar some bumps on a church bell tower near my apartment, bumps with the distinct size and shape of cell phone towers. Getting closer my suspicion was confirmed, though it also became apparent why I'd never noticed them before: they're treated with a brick patterning.

Bell Tower Additions

This visual slight-of-hand, though, is just one element in the bell tower's transformation since its completion in 1950. The red lights atop the cross, due to its location near Laguardia Airport, is one example. As are the computer-generated tunes that the tower emits every so often, a modern-day replacement for those archaic bells and the hunchback who rang them.

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