STURGEON BAY, Wis.— Jesse Klein is a frequent visitor at Potawatomi State Park near Sturgeon Bay.
He made the trip again this weekend.
What You Need To Know
- The community will have input into a pair of designs for an observation tower at Potawatomi State Park
- The tower has been closed since 2018 due to wood rot
- Initial plans called for replacing the tower with a new one, but the Wisconsin DNR transitioned to rehabilitation after a public comment period.
“It’s not too far from home, and we love the cliffs and the bluffs we have here,” said Klein, who lives in Appleton.
He’s been coming here since he was a child. One of his memories is the 75-foot-tall observation tower.
“When I was a little kid I remember going up on that tower. I haven’t been up there in over a decade so I didn’t even know it was closed until we came up here during COVID and figured it was a COVID thing,” he said. “But it turns out, no, it’s just in really poor condition.”
On Monday, Gov. Tony Evers said GRAEF Architects will develop plans for the future of the tower. Some people and groups have advocated saving the historic structure. There’s also the possibility an entirely new tower could be built.
Evers said he’s not backing one idea over the other and just wants to get the project completed.
Built in 1931, the observation tower has been closed since 2018 due to structural issues.
Christie Weber, the former president of the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society, has been advocating restoration of the tower.
She said it’s in need of repairs as plans are developed.
“It’s like a house deck, it rots if you don’t take care of it,” Weber said.
Tuesday’s announcement offers a development in a discussion that’s be going on for years.
“If they get the stabilization done we will at least be to breathe easy that the resource will be there at the end of their study,” Weber said.
Evers and DNR staff said plans — and costs — for the tower will be clearer in a year. It’s expected to be included in the 2023-2025 budget.
Klein said he’d like to the original tower preserved, if possible.
“I’m all about preserving historical structures," he said. "It’s certainly a piece of my past, so I’m all for restoring it."