Detroit Zoo water tower renovation complete

The landmark Detroit Zoo water tower got a facelift just in time for fall.

The colorful tower, at Woodward Avenue and 10 Mile Road in Royal Oak, had the existing graphic steamed off. The tower was then power washed and scraped, and then given a new design. The design hews to the original theme of animals and humans walking across a plain at dusk, but this time the elephant was replaced with a rhino. (Detroit's elephants have since retired to a sanctuary.) The $200,000 makeover was finished Aug. 24.

"The water tower -- one of the most visible landmarks in the region -- was in desperate need of work, both structurally and aesthetically, for some time," Patricia Mills Janeway, the zoo's communication director, writes in an e-mail. It had been 12 years since the tower was last wrapped.

The work took a little longer than expected due to inclement weather, but the end result was worth it: "We are very happy with the way it turned out," she adds. "Many of our visitors, members, donors and neighbors have told us that they are happy we kept the 'critter parade' design."

The tower no longer stores water; its only purpose is a giant billboard. Janeway estimates the advertising value of the tower at more than $100,000.

Source: Patricia Mills Janeway, communications director for the Detroit Zoo
Writer: Kristin Lukowski

Detroit Zoo water tower renovation complete

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