The Story of How a Kuwohi-Esque Observation Tower Was Built in the Middle of Florida Swampland
They were on a mission and had a decade to finish the job. In the 1950s, the powers that be – powers that understood the importance of the still relatively new National Park Service. As such, they wanted to do something special for the 50th anniversary of the creation of the NPS. Mission 66, they called it, chiefly because the anniversary was in 1966.
IN THIS ARTICLE
The History of the Push for National Parks
After World War II, America entered the late 40s and early 50s flush with a booming economy. It was emboldened with a national zeal built on turning back Hitler and saving Europe and the World. As a result, the idea was born to create national parks worthy of a great nation.
Pre-war construction in the parks had been done quickly and somewhat cheaply. The projects were done to create jobs as much as they were to create parks. The result was work that felt behind the times. So, the idea of Mission 66 was to spruce things up – give them a more modern design and feel – while increasing park services and access.
This idea led to some of the most successful public works projects in the nation’s history. It also led to some of the ugliest public buildings ever created, like the now destroyed Gettysburg Visitor Center that looked like a double-decker cake. It was called the Cyclorama Building. If you’ve seen community college buildings designed in the 1960s, you’ll get the idea.
But the push for modern design in the parks led to some surprising similarities. Were they copies or homages? Or were they the result of architects who’d studied similar ideas? It’s hard to say. But if you travel to the Everglades and suddenly feel as if you’re back in the Smokies, at least now you’ll know why.
Kuwohi and the Mushroom Cap Design That Could
The year was 1959. Kuwohi, known at the time as Clingmans Dome, was ready for a little growth. The highest summit in the Smokies, Kuwohi, had been home to a wooden fire-watching observation tower since the 1930s. The tower had seen better days, and the need for something more permanent was identified.
According to the book “Blue Ridge Fire Towers” by Robert Sorrell, officials hired a Gatlinburg architectural firm operated by Hubert Bebb and Raymond Olson to design the 45-foot-high tower. Bebb’s original design included a cylinder that made the tower look more like a silo. However, park officials determined the cylinder was unnecessary and removed it, leaving the now-familiar mushroom cap design. They say they deemed it unnecessary, but I wonder if the cylinder made the tower look like something other than a mushroom and the decision was discreetly made to go in another direction.
Even without the cylinder, the design was not overly popular. It was called flashy and conspicuous and out of place in the rustic landscape atop the mountain. The steep concrete ramp didn’t do much aesthetically, either. There was quite a discussion. At the time, it became something of a national controversy. But the thing got built and opened in 1959 and we’ve all learned to love it over the years.
People acclimated so well that just five years later, when its near identical twin went up in the Everglades, nary a complaint was noted.
Welcome to the Shark Valley Observation Tower
Shark Valley is a depression from which springs the Shark River Slough in the western part of Miami-Dade County. Located within the Everglades National Park, the valley includes a sawgrass prairie. It’s popular with gators, a variety of birds, and white-tailed deer as well as non-native pythons. A new park with relatively little development in the 1950s, the Everglades were a prime candidate for the Mission 66 projects. And so, the Shark Valley Observation Tower was born. Built in 1964, the tour was designed by Edward M. Ghezzi, a prominent South Florida architect.
The design is strikingly similar to Kuwohi. The 70-foot tower has the familiar mushroom head design and swooping concrete ramp. But there’s a climbing platform accessible by a spiral staircase on top of the observation tower, a little like a cake topper. Or maybe it’s a little like there’s a miny observation tower on top of the observation tower. From a certain point of view, it’s a little like something you’d see in a Dali painting but less infinite.
Did Kuwohi Inspire Shark Valley?
Hard to say. It’s certainly possible. My extensive research – involving a good five-minute internet search – found little connection other than both men were of the Mid-Century Modern era. Did Ghezzi draw inspiration for the Shark Tower from Kuwohi? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just that there aren’t that many ways to build an observation tower in remote wilderness. There were nine observation towers built as part of Mission 66. Shark Valley, Kuwohi and the Look Rock Tower viewing platform on the Foothills Parkway all have similarities. Though in fairness, Bebb and Olson also did Look Rock, so there is similar inspiration.
Did you know about the Kuwohi lookalike tower? Let us know in the comments. Are you planning a trip to the Smoky Mountains soon? Make sure to check out our coupons page before your trip!