Gettysburg Tower Is Razed, to Joy of Many

A modern battle of Gettysburg ended with the blast of demolition charges, as the U.S. government leveled a 330-foot steel observation tower long criticized as an eyesore on the landscape of the Civil War battlefield. On the 137th anniversary of the battle’s final day, U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt ordered artillery units dressed in Confederate and Union uniforms to fire blank rounds just before rapid-fire explosions toppled the 26-year-old tower in front of a crowd of hooting preservationists. They have been trying for decades to remove the tower, built on private property next to the Gettysburg National Military Park.