Misplaced Pages

Peachoid: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 04:47, 18 February 2017 editBeyond My Ken (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, File movers, IP block exemptions, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers263,278 edits →History← Previous edit Revision as of 04:48, 18 February 2017 edit undoBeyond My Ken (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, File movers, IP block exemptions, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers263,278 edits →HistoryNext edit →
Line 5: Line 5:


==History== ==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 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 Selma, Alabama.

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,<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 = ] }}</ref> and a smaller (500,000 U.S. gallons, 1.9 million litres) 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}}</ref> 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 = ] }}</ref> and a smaller (500,000 U.S. gallons, 1.9 million litres) 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}}</ref>

Revision as of 04:48, 18 February 2017

The Peachoid

The Peachoid is a 135 feet (41 m) tall water tower in Gaffney, South Carolina, U.S.A., that resembles a peach. The water tower holds one million U.S. gallons (3.8 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 on the part of I-85 connecting 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 litres) peachoid has been built for Clanton, Alabama by the same company.

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 a butt. In the episode, Frank Underwood, as a native of Gaffney, keeps a photo of the Peachoid in his office, and in Chapter 3 the Peachoid becomes the subject of a political and potentially legal battle for Frank.
  • In February 2017, the Peachoid was the subject of a "bump" on the Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" programming block.

References

  1. "Peachoid Water Tower". Emporis. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  2. ^ "Peachoid Water Tower, Gaffney, South Carolina". Roadside America.
  3. ^ "Big Peach Water Tower, Clanton, Alabama". Roadside America.
  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. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  5. "House of Cards: The Complete First Season". AV Club.

External links

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

Categories: