The death of Smiley begins today in Grand Forks.
In a day and a half the water tower, a beloved local landmark since it was painted in 1977, will be gone.
Here's how Smiley will be euthanized, if you will, according to Donavan Voeller, the design engineer at AE2S who'll be supervising the demolition.
Contractors from Iseler Demolition out of Romeo, Mich., will set up a crane, dismantle large chunks of the water tower and lower them to the ground. On the ground, workers will cut the pieces into smaller pieces for transportation. Trucks from Residual Materials Inc., in Grand Forks will come to haul the old fellow away to various scrap yards for recycling.
Iseler Demolition are specialists in water tower demolition, Voeller said.
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The company's Web site boasts of water towers large and small, from 9,000 gallons to 5 million gallons, which its workers have taken down over the past two decades. Smiley at 130 feet high and 175,000 gallons is on the small side.
Carolyn Kramer, a secretary at Iseler Demolition, said the company takes down about 100 water towers a year.
Do a lot of people love their water towers like some Grand Forks residents love Smiley?
Yes they do, she said. "Especially for older people in the area, they've grown up with the tank, it's hard for them to part with it," she said.
