A cell tower in southern California has local residents talking. Rather than a sudden steeple or lofty monopine, this cell tower is concealed by a brick facade that doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a brick edifice. As the Fresno Bee reports, the Verizon tower is in a highly visible location along the 41 Freeway, and commenters don’t seem to like what they are seeing.
Complaints about the possible appearance of the structure were discussed for two years before the Fresno City Council and the city’s Planning and Development Department eventually gave Verizon the go-ahead to build. Councilmember Miguel Arias stated that “clock towers, bell steeples, light poles, and similar alternative design mounting structures that camouflage or conceal (its) presence” were all considered. These options were all rejected in favor of the three-sided brick “nothing.”
Local resident Larry Taylor, whose bedroom window now includes a view of the tower, noted, “Right now it’s just something that sticks up in the air 80 feet and no one knows why. It’s a whole lot better than a spindly, skinny tree with antennas and wires all over it,” he continued. “But they said it was going to be artistic. I wish they had done a better job of that.”
Councilmember Arias told the Fresno Bee that he would’ve preferred a more attractive tower for downtown Fresno, but that Verizon’s design fully met the city’s requirements. “I haven’t seen a tower that I do like in terms of design,” he added.
While no connectivity complaints were reported, online commenters have had a field day sharing their opinions about their new cell tower. “Looks like low quality brick wallpaper,” observed one person. “It needs advertisements,” quipped another, “Beautiful advertisement for sports betting and erectile dysfunction.”
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