A LONGTIME LANDMARK on the north end of Lake Worth Beach is about to disappear.
The old water tower rising 110 feet above the southeast corner of 22nd Avenue North and North D Street will be dismantled on Jan. 6, ending a 78-year run of providing both water and a reference point for residents.
Built in 1946 and topped with a 300,000 gallon tank, the tower has been out of commission since August 2023 because of adverse effects on water quality, said Vaughn Baker, the city's water utilities director. Corrosion is causing the tank’s wind rods to fall apart, she said.
The city has no plans to use it again and can rely on its other water tower, built in 1991 next to Interstate 95 near Sixth Avenue South.
To save on maintenance costs and eliminate a potential safety hazard, officials decided to remove the north tower and make the footprint space available for other public uses. The land is part of the city’s Northwest Park.
City officials flirted with the idea of imploding the tower but decided to dismantle it, a safer option for the Peniel Haitian Baptist Church of Lake Worth immediately next to the tower and the surrounding homes in the Sunset Ridge neighborhood.
The two companies handling the demolition, Globaltech and USG Water Solutions, are expected to finish the job in one week. The work is not expected to cost more than $306,000, money that already had been set aside for painting.
Crews will use blow torches to cut the pieces, which will be removed by a crane. Starting Jan. 6 the city will close the intersection of 22nd Avenue N and North D Street for safety purposes and access during crane operation.
“It’s kind of sad,’’ Mayor Betty Resch said, reflecting on the nostalgia of the tower’s presence since 1946.
Before cell phones with Global Positioning Systems became ubiquitous, many residents and visitors relied on the tower as a navigational guide.
“It’s like a beacon for how to get to their home. If you get lost for whatever reason, you just look up, ‘There’s the water tower. Now I know where to go,’’’ said Ryan Oblander, president of the Sunset Ridge Neighborhood Association.
Some residents this year shared concerns on social media about the tower’s stability after hearing banging noises when wind gusts hit the tank.
The tower's water tank still has the previous city name, Lake Worth. The tower near Sixth Avenue South was repainted in 2023 to look like a beach ball with name "Lake Worth Beach,'' reflecting a name change approved by voters in 2019.
Once the north tower is removed, the city will convert the footprint into a public use. Ideas shared by residents so far include a small park, dog park and a parking lot.
While some people in town may not even know it exists, longtime residents on the north end consider the tower an old neighbor.
“I liked looking up at it when I take a walk or a bike ride around the neighborhood,’’ Oblander said. “I’ll miss it.’’
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About the author
Joe Capozzi is an award-winning reporter based in Lake Worth Beach. He spent more than 30 years writing for newspapers, mostly at The Palm Beach Post, where he wrote about the opioid scourge, invasive pythons, the birth of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Palm Beach County government. For 15 years, he covered the Miami Marlins baseball team. Joe left The Post in December 2020. View all posts by Joe Capozzi.