Slayton Tower, Melrose

I must confess that I have a strange fascination with a tower on top of a hill. And yes, please stop mentioning the phallic mambo-jumbo, Dr. Freud.

After spending a few years of my life in the Prairie, a hill -- the mere geographical contour -- obtained a mythical position in my perception. In that very narrow sense, Massachusetts has proven as a magical wonderland. Since I realized a handful of hills have viewing towers,  they have elevated to the equivalent of the technicolor world of the Wizard of OZ.

The very sacred hill of Illinois

I love driving along Route 1 to Newburyport. Hilltop Steak House (cactus !!), abandoned motels, kitschy Chinese restaurants, Danvers State Hospital… it is the epitome of America that fascinates me (including the fact that the Danvers is now a condo). Slayton Tower in Melrose is one of my strange love at Route 1.

The tower  is located at Mt. Hood Golf Club. Together with the golf course, it was build during the 30’s as a part of the Works Progress Administration project.  Compared to the Recovery Act of the 21st century fixing roads and bridges, it sounds somewhat impractical the folks in the 30’s built this tower; don’t worry, it was built to watch out for the German U-Boats. Now Slayton Tower is surrounded by the golfers who play hard during the weekdays.

Stone cladding must be the main architectural theme of this golf course. The tower,  club house, pumping station, and even barbecue pits were stone-clad. The WPA artists painted murals, and the WPA masons stacked stone.

 

Anyway, amid the happy golfers I climbed up to the top. The  interior was crumbling, and there was a remain of a Halloween party (official or unofficial, how would I know).

The loving memory of Oct. 31, 2009...

Surrounded by cell phone antennas, the view from the top was hazy but great. I can imagine the soldiers watching out for the U-boats. But I still don’t understand what kind of occasion made two men smoke cigars… 

The war is over, and now is the time for cigars.

I have no interest in golf or golf course per se. But it would be difficult to hate this place.

A trash bin adjacent to the tower. Yes, I did enjoy the view.

A water cooler living in a hut named "MT HOOD"

It was way too hot, so I decided to drink the water...

Nice'n cold !!

Thanks for reading, and see you next time.

Locate Slayton Tower @ Google Map