Three Gettysburg battlefield observation towers, providing views for 125 years, will close this week for safety inspections

West Confederate Avenue tower (NPS) and Culp's Hill tower (Craig Swain, HMdb.org)

Three observation towers at Gettysburg National Military Park have beckoned visitors for 125 years, offering views of the hills, pastures and valleys where two armies clashed in July 1863.

Patrons climb flights of stairs to reach the top of the metal West Confederate, Culp’s Hill and Oak Ridge towers built in 1895-1896. A report during their construction said: “These are all solid and well-built structures, and, located as they are, they afford the observer a complete and satisfactory view of the entire scene of the great battle and enable him to get a consistent and accurate idea of it as a whole.”

This week, structural engineers will conduct standard safety inspections of the sites. Park spokesman Jason Martz told the Picket that there have been no issues. The most recent safety checks were in 1999 and 2013.

“Visitors can continue to climb these towers today and the planned safety inspections will allow their continued use for many years to come,” Martz said.

The towers will be closed, however, during the inspections this week. They will take place via vertical access (rappelling) and by hypsometric laser scanning, officials said in a news release.

-- West Confederate Avenue Tower: April 5, 6, 7, (8 if needed) 

-- Culp’s Hill Tower: April 5, 6, 7, (8 if needed) 

-- Oak Ridge Tower (left): April 6, (8 if needed) 

April 8 is reserved for any weather interruptions. If inspections are able to be carried out with no weather interruptions, that day will not be required as a closure date. The park will update its website with opening and closing information during the work.

Three other towers on the battlefield were removed years ago, for differing reasons.

-- The Ziegler's Grove tower was removed in 1961 when the Cyclorama building superseded it.

-- The Big Round Top tower was removed in 1968. It was deemed dangerous and obsolete, Martz wrote in an email.

-- Most famously, the colossal Gettysburg National Tower, which was considered an eyesore and an intrusion by many, was demolished by the park in 2000. Erected in 1974, the nearly 400 foot tower was on private land, later acquired by the government. The sound of firing by replica cannons signaled the blast that brought the tower down to cheers (below).

Here’s a more detailed look at the three observation towers still on the battlefield.

West Confederate Avenue (75 feet)

Also called the Longstreet Tower, the structure provides views of many features, including Pitzer Woods, the Rose Farm, Wheatfield, Peach Orchard and Big Round Top and Little Round Top. Behind is Eisenhower National Historic Site.

Culp’s Hill (60 feet)

The hill was the extreme right flank of the Union army, and the object of Confederate assaults that failed to dislodge them. “Culp's Hill became a prime tourist attraction after the battle. It was close to the town and, unlike most battles in open fields, it was heavily wooded and the extreme firepower took a very visible toll on the trees, some of which were completely sheared off,” a Waymarking.com article about the tower says.

Oak Ridge tower before it was lowered, trees cut (Library of Congress)

Oak Ridge (23 feet)

This tower was more than halved in the late 1960s, ostensibly to save on maintenance costs without significantly altering the view. Located on the extreme northern part of the park and near the town, the Oak Ridge tower showcases the spot where Federal troops briefly held the line on July 1, 1863, as the Confederate roared into the area. Views include Doubleday Avenue and a string of monuments.

The site detailed the surviving towers in a 2020 Facebook post.

“The observation towers at Gettysburg National Military Park are a stark reminder of a bygone era. Many visitors are surprised to hear just how old the steel observation towers are. In fact, they were built in 1895 by the United States War Department, before the National Park Service even existed. They were designed to give horse and buggy tourists and military academy students an opportunity to get an overhead view of the battlefield.”

The man behind the towers was Emmor Cope, a Union soldier who surveyed the Gettysburg battlefield for a foundational map. He was among those who founded the park as a key member of the Gettysburg Battlefield Commission. Cope had completed designs for the towers by early February 1895.

A 1998 NPS drawing of three of the Gettysburg towers (Library of Congress)

“The five steel towers, placed at key observation points, were integral to the original design plan for the park and its avenue system. Prior to the enabling legislation the scope of the commission's work had been to design the avenue features, such as road surfaces, culverts and bridges. As soon as Gettysburg became a national park, however, Cope began to design the towers as signature features worthy of a national park,” according to Gettysburg National Military Park.

“The addition of the towers took the plan of the park beyond simply fixing the battle lines with avenues, markers, and monuments to acknowledging the greater scope and significance of the battle for veterans and for the American public. …. In a sense the towers became vertical avenues, allowing access to an understanding of the battlefield that ground level study of battle could not supply.”