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| 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 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 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 |
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 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}}</ref> | ||
| <!--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 ] at ].--> | <!--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 ] at ].--> | ||
| <!--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 |
<!--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 popular culture== | ==In popular culture== | ||
Revision as of 02:58, 4 October 2018
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 (3.78541 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 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.
- In February 2017, the Peachoid was the subject of a "bump" on the Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" programming block, where it was jokingly described as being "shaped like a giant ass with a crack rash and a garnish. Some people say it looks like a peach. They are wrong."
References
- "Peachoid Water Tower". Emporis. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "Peachoid Water Tower, Gaffney, South Carolina". Roadside America.
- ^ "Big Peach Water Tower, Clanton, Alabama". Roadside America.
- 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.
- "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:- Buildings and structures in Cherokee County, South Carolina
- Landmarks in South Carolina
- Infrastructure completed in 1981
- Interstate 85
- Novelty buildings in South Carolina
- Roadside attractions in South Carolina
- Towers completed in 1981
- Towers in South Carolina
- Tourist attractions in Cherokee County, South Carolina
- Water towers in the United States
- 1981 establishments in South Carolina