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{{Short description|Water tower in Gaffney, South Carolina}}
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The '''Peachoid''' is the name of a very large ] in ], that resembles a ]. The water tower holds one million gallons of water and is located on ] between exits 90 & 92 (near ]). An example of ] architecture, the Peachoid is one of the most recognizable landmarks on the part of I-85 connecting ] and ]. The '''Peachoid''' is a {{convert|135|foot}} tall ] in ], U.S., that resembles a ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emporis.com/building/peachoidwatertower-gaffney-sc-usa|title=Peachoid Water Tower|publisher=]|accessdate=2 August 2013|archive-date=24 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224121320/http://www.emporis.com/building/peachoidwatertower-gaffney-sc-usa|url-status=usurped}}</ref> The water tower holds one million U.S. gallons (3.78541 million litres) of water and is located off Peachoid Road by ] between exits 90 and 92 (near the ]). Usually referred to by locals as "The Peach" and by passing motorists as "Mr. Peach" or "The Moon over Gaffney", the water tank is visible for several miles around these exits.<ref name="PeachoidRoadside">{{cite web|url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2213|title=Peachoid Water Tower, Gaffney, South Carolina|publisher=Roadside America|access-date=2014-02-22|archive-date=2015-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128095204/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2213|url-status=live}}</ref>


An example of ], the Peachoid is one of the most recognizable ]s for travelers along I-85 between ], and ].
Usually referred to by passing motorists as "The Peach," this four-story (150 feet tall) water tank is visible to travelers on I-85 for several miles before getting abreast of it between exits 90 and 92. A ] restaurant is now located just east of the water tower, a prime location for publicity.


==History==
]
⚫ The water tower was built in ], by the ], of steel and concrete.<ref name="BigPeachClanton" /> An overlay stem and leaf were laid across the structure, an enormous "cleft" was created with steel paneling, and Peter Freudenberg, an artist who worked with macro-art, painted the structure to realistically resemble a peach. The foundation and sub-contract work was performed by Ford Construction Company of ].


⚫ The Peachoid was commissioned by the Gaffney Board of Public Works,<ref name="PeachoidRoadside" /> who had a need for elevated water storage and wished to find a way of building it using federal funding. The shape of the peach was selected because the Gaffney economy was then dependent upon peach orchards, and because the people of the town wanted to make clear that South Carolina, and at one time, ] alone, where Gaffney is located, produced more peaches per year than the entire state of Georgia (known as the "Peach State").<ref name="PeachoidRoadside" /> Since its construction, the Peachoid's extremely high visibility has introduced an element of tourism to the local economy,<ref name="PostandCourier">{{cite news | url = http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130319/PC16/130319226 | title = Upstate town's giant peach is ripe for fame on Netflix drama 'House of Cards' | author = Largen, Stephen | date = March 19, 2013 | accessdate = 22 February 2014 | newspaper = ] | location = ] | archive-date = 22 December 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222121116/http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130319/PC16/130319226 | url-status = dead }}</ref> and a smaller (500,000 U.S. gallons, 1.9 million liters) peachoid has been built for ] by the same company.<ref name="BigPeachClanton">{{cite web|url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2014|title=Big Peach Water Tower, Clanton, Alabama|publisher=Roadside America|access-date=2014-02-22|archive-date=2015-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222052325/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
⚫ The Peachoid was built in ] by the ], of steel and concrete. An overlay stem and leaf were laid across the structure, an enormous "cleft" was created with steel paneling, and Peter Freudenburg, an artist who worked with macro-art, painted the structure to realistically pass for a peach.
<!--The following images removed for various reasons - see talk page: File:Peachoid.JPG|The Peachoid water tower in Gaffney, South Carolina; File:PeachoidI-85.jpg|The Peachoid seen from northbound ]; File:Peachoid-27527.jpg|The Peachoid; File:GaffneySCPeachoidAtDusk.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The Peachoid at dusk-->
<!--The non-free image Peach2.gif is used in the gallery as part of a visual series on the history of the Peachoid. The accompanying text in the Architectural details section is used to justify the use of the non-free image. The gallery format is chosen to make the article more readable and is not relevant to whether or not a non-free image should be used. ] says: "The use of non-free media in lists, galleries, discographies, and navigational and user-interface elements usually fails the test for significance (criterion #8), and if it fails this test such use is unacceptable." In this case, the use of the image in a series to show the changing appearance of the structure and the surrounding area meets the significance criterion.-->


In February 2018, the Gaffney Board of Public Works installed a 6-foot tall chain-link security fence around the Peachoid in response to years of continued vandalism.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thestate.com/news/state/article200843654.html |title=Gaffney, SC Peachoid water tower on House of Cards gets fence &#124; the State |access-date=2019-12-14 |archive-date=2019-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216205907/https://www.thestate.com/news/state/article200843654.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article200874019.html |title=The nation's most famous giant peach surrounded by fence. &#124; Charlotte Observer |website=www.charlotteobserver.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214031723/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article200874019.html |archive-date=2019-12-14 |url-status=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goupstate.com/news/20180216/why-has-6-foot-fence-been-installed-around-peachoid|title=Why has a 6-foot fence been installed around the Peachoid?|first=Chris|last=Lavender|website=GoUpstate|access-date=2019-12-14|archive-date=2019-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214005501/https://www.goupstate.com/news/20180216/why-has-6-foot-fence-been-installed-around-peachoid|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/fence-put-up-around-famous-south-carolina-peach-water-tower/article_c1b24690-14de-11e8-8a9f-133a011d1c15.html|title=Fence put up around famous South Carolina peach water tower|agency=Associated Press|website=Post and Courier|date=18 February 2018 |access-date=2019-12-14|archive-date=2019-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214005501/https://www.postandcourier.com/news/fence-put-up-around-famous-south-carolina-peach-water-tower/article_c1b24690-14de-11e8-8a9f-133a011d1c15.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
⚫ The Peachoid was commissioned by the Gaffney Board of Public Works, who had a need for elevated water storage and wished to find a way of building it using federal funding. The shape of the peach was selected because the Gaffney economy was then dependent upon peach orchards, and because the people of the town wanted to make clear that ], and at one time, ] alone, (where ] is located) produces more peaches per year than the entire state of ] (known as the "Peach State"). Since its construction, the Peachoid's extremely high visibility has introduced an element of tourism to the local economy, and a smaller (500,000 gallons) peachoid has been built for ].


==In popular culture==
]
The Peachoid was a focal plot point in ] of '']'', where there was concern that the structure resembles female genitalia and/or buttocks. In the episode, ], as a native of Gaffney, keeps a photo of the Peachoid in his office, and it becomes the subject of a political and potentially legal battle for Frank after a young woman dies in a car accident, distracted by the Peachoid.<ref>{{cite news|work=AV Club|title=''House of Cards: The Complete First Season''|url=http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/house-of-cards-the-complete-first-season-92556|access-date=2015-01-23|archive-date=2015-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118013523/http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/house-of-cards-the-complete-first-season-92556|url-status=live}}</ref>


The Peachoid finds mention in the ] novel "Hellbent“, Part 3 of the ] series, when the protagonist Evan Smoak recognizes the landmark on a video feed taken from a crashing helicopter at night. Mistakenly, he travels to Gaffney, not being aware of the second, identical yet smaller version in Clanton, to find clues on the events leading up to the helicopter crash.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hurwitz |first=Gregg |author-link=Gregg Hurwitz |year=2018 |title=Hellbent |publisher=Penguin Random House |series=Orphan X |isbn=9780718185473}}</ref>
The Peachoid has appeared as an oddity in films in the past. In '']'', the travelers stumble across it.

==Geography==
The Peachoid is located at {{coor dms|35|5|43|N|81|41|9|W|city}} (35.095278, -81.685833){{GR|1}}.


==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{coord|35|5|43|N|81|41|9|W|display=title}}
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⚫ *
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*{{cite web | title=Peach Water Tower | work=Ohio Barns | url=http://www.ohiobarns.com/othersites/watertowers/sc/WT%2040-11peach.html | accessdate=September 8 | accessyear=2005}} (Contains personal photos and GPS coordinates.)
⚫ *


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Latest revision as of 04:02, 1 September 2024

Water tower in Gaffney, South Carolina
The Peachoid
Closeup view of the bottom of the Peachoid, 2018

The Peachoid is a 135 foot (41 m) tall water tower in Gaffney, South Carolina, U.S., that resembles a peach. The water tower holds one million U.S. gallons (3.78541 million litres) of water and is located off Peachoid Road by Interstate 85 between exits 90 and 92 (near the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway). Usually referred to by locals as "The Peach" and by passing motorists as "Mr. Peach" or "The Moon over Gaffney", the water tank is visible for several miles around these exits.

An example of novelty architecture, the Peachoid is one of the most recognizable landmarks for travelers along I-85 between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia.

History

The water tower was built in 1981, by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company, of steel and concrete. An overlay stem and leaf were laid across the structure, an enormous "cleft" was created with steel paneling, and Peter Freudenberg, an artist who worked with macro-art, painted the structure to realistically resemble a peach. The foundation and sub-contract work was performed by Ford Construction Company of Selma, Alabama.

The Peachoid was commissioned by the Gaffney Board of Public Works, who had a need for elevated water storage and wished to find a way of building it using federal funding. The shape of the peach was selected because the Gaffney economy was then dependent upon peach orchards, and because the people of the town wanted to make clear that South Carolina, and at one time, Cherokee County alone, where Gaffney is located, produced more peaches per year than the entire state of Georgia (known as the "Peach State"). Since its construction, the Peachoid's extremely high visibility has introduced an element of tourism to the local economy, and a smaller (500,000 U.S. gallons, 1.9 million liters) peachoid has been built for Clanton, Alabama by the same company.

In February 2018, the Gaffney Board of Public Works installed a 6-foot tall chain-link security fence around the Peachoid in response to years of continued vandalism.

In popular culture

The Peachoid was a focal plot point in Chapter 3 of House of Cards, where there was concern that the structure resembles female genitalia and/or buttocks. In the episode, Frank Underwood, as a native of Gaffney, keeps a photo of the Peachoid in his office, and it becomes the subject of a political and potentially legal battle for Frank after a young woman dies in a car accident, distracted by the Peachoid.

The Peachoid finds mention in the Gregg Hurwitz novel "Hellbent“, Part 3 of the Orphan X series, when the protagonist Evan Smoak recognizes the landmark on a video feed taken from a crashing helicopter at night. Mistakenly, he travels to Gaffney, not being aware of the second, identical yet smaller version in Clanton, to find clues on the events leading up to the helicopter crash.

References

  1. "Peachoid Water Tower". Emporis. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  2. ^ "Peachoid Water Tower, Gaffney, South Carolina". Roadside America. Archived from the original on 2015-11-28. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  3. ^ "Big Peach Water Tower, Clanton, Alabama". Roadside America. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  4. Largen, Stephen (March 19, 2013). "Upstate town's giant peach is ripe for fame on Netflix drama 'House of Cards'". The Post and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  5. "Gaffney, SC Peachoid water tower on House of Cards gets fence | the State". Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  6. "The nation's most famous giant peach surrounded by fence. | Charlotte Observer". www.charlotteobserver.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14.
  7. Lavender, Chris. "Why has a 6-foot fence been installed around the Peachoid?". GoUpstate. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  8. "Fence put up around famous South Carolina peach water tower". Post and Courier. Associated Press. 18 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  9. "House of Cards: The Complete First Season". AV Club. Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
  10. Hurwitz, Gregg (2018). Hellbent. Orphan X. Penguin Random House. ISBN 9780718185473.

External links

35°5′43″N 81°41′9″W / 35.09528°N 81.68583°W / 35.09528; -81.68583

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