BY RANDY McNUTT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD -- On Monday, Oxford started imagining life without the old water tower.
After four years of discussion and a public vote, demolition procedures began Monday and will take two to three weeks, said City Engineer Max Johns.
Neal Itzkowitz, 42, and Ralph Brenner, 44, came to Oxford on vacation to see the tower for the last time.
"We're saddened," Mr. Itzkowitz said. "Another landmark is biting the dust." Mr. Itzkowitz, of Roseburg, Ore., graduated from Miami University in 1977.
Mr. Brenner, of Fairport, N.Y., graduated in 1976. He said after he read about the demolition, "I decided I just had to see it one more time."
The light-green tower was built in 1922, and it served the city for more than 70 years. But in the last few years, it had become what some people called an eyesore.
Because of concerns about its poor condition, the city emptied the tank in November 1993.
On July 7, city council voted 4-2 to hire the Pittsburgh Tank and Tower Co. -- for $44,550 -- to demolish the tower. But some residents considered it a landmark that needing saving.
As recently as last week, William Stitt, an Oxford physician who tried to save the tower, implored city council to "consider the tower for what it can be, not what it has been."
Suggestions ranged from a cellular tower to the focal point for uptown business expansion.
None of them made any difference.
Monday afternoon, however, nobody protested. Only a few people watched as crews prepared for the big job.
In a non-binding referendum in November, voters decided 60 percent to 40 percent to tear down the 130-foot tower in Memorial Park in the business district.
Then last week, the Tower Project Committee announced that it had received $100,000 in donations to help the city maintain the tower.
"Unfortunately, the timing of the committee came after the vote," said Councilwoman Vanessa Cummings, who voted for demolition. "Voters' opinions do count."
Over the decades, the tower has become a popular meeting place and pleasant image of the past for alumni.
Councilman Alan Kyger, who has supported demolition in the past, wanted to delay demolition this week so that the city could seek bids on painting the rusting tower.
"If they (the committee) have enough money, I'm not sure we're spending taxpayers' money the right way," he said, "I guess there is a sentimental part of me yet."
