Businesses Past
by Richard D. L. Fulton
Gettysburg National Tower
The Gettysburg National Tower was previously located near the current Evergreen Cemetery and Taneytown Road private property, adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park.
Access to the site was attained via an access road that had branched off of Taneytown Road.
The proposal to build the Gettysburg National Tower was met with a considerable number of objections from people while it was still in the planning phase, most of whom apparently claiming that the construction would pose “an intrusion on the hallowed grounds” and as being an “eyesore,” according to historians and preservationists, as per an article published in the Penn Live/Patriot News on July 2, 2013.
The 330-foot observation tower was proposed in 1970 by Washington, D.C. native, Thomas R. Ottenstein, described as a wealthy Washington news dealer and real estate promoter in a letter to the editor, written by C.E. Schildknecht and published in the February 3, 1971, issue of The Gettysburg Times.
The Times had also noted in its July 10 issue that Ottenstein had originally proposed to erect the tower in Colt Park, which the National Park Service (NPS) had objected to, resulting in the developer then trading three parcels of Colt Park land to the NPS, in exchange for a site on park land near the Evergreen Cemetery. Ottenstein had already commenced installing the footers for the proposed tower in Colt Park, but then halted when he began relocation negotiations with the NPS.
In addition to the land exchange, Ottenstein had also agreed with the NPS that he establish a nonprofit organization—to be funded by five percent of the taxable income generated by the tower—for the purpose of supporting historic interests of the NPS. The NPS had also agreed to establish a twenty-two-foot right-of-way on park land for the life of the Tower, according to the NPS.
Attempts by those objecting to the construction of the tower reached a peak when an injunction that had been sought against the tower was filed in August 1971. The effort failed and was dismissed by the Adams County court in October, clearing the way for Thomas R. Ottenstein’s classroom in the sky, according to the October 26, 1971, issue of The Gettysburg Times.
The resistance, however, commenced again in late 1971, bleeding over into 1972. It was based on a portion of the right-of-way granted by the NPS, for the tower was not actually owned by the NPS, a fairly important dispute, since if the agreement between Ottenstein and the NPS was nullified by the courts, the NPS would have had to return the land Ottenstein had traded to them, in order to relocate the tower, and the developer could then recommence with the effort to construct the tower in Colt Park.
Work on constructing the tower commenced by December 1972, with a cost estimate of $1.9 million (in 1973, the cost was given as $2 million, and in 1974 the cost was given as $3.5 million), according to the December 30, 1972, issue of The Gettysburg Times.
How the access issue was resolved was not determined (by the author), and the tower was opened to the public on July 27, 1974, according to the July 29, 1974, issue of The Gettysburg Times (not July 29 as stated elsewhere on the internet).
The tower was 307 feet tall, which included a circular, enclosed, windowed platform on the top (as well as an open deck). As visitors walked around the platform, placards were posted, explaining what had taken place on the battlefield, within the view of a particular window offered. The structure contained elevators and stairways to reach the top.
The tower was seized by the NPS through the eminent domain process in 2000 and was court-ordered to pay the current landowners $4 million, which was split between the landowners and Overview Limited Partnership (principally owned by Ottenstein).
The tower was demolished on July 3, 2000, by using explosives, and was accompanied by significant fanfare.
Gettysburg National Tower
Source: Postcard Photo by S. Fredman, Collection of Richard D. L. Fulton
