After closer review, Rock Hill does not have its own version of the leaning Tower of Pisa.
A letter to the editor in Monday's Herald caused some consternation at City Hall. It claimed one of the new brick monuments outside the Galleria leans to one side, similar to the famous landmark in Pisa, Italy.
City officials have heard plenty from critics who denounce the publicly funded installations as extravagant.
But the crooked claim was a first.
Concerned about whether it could be true, city project manager Phil Okey summoned the contractor who headed the project.
“We wanted to make absolutely certain,” Okey said. “We insist on quality when we're building city assets. There's always the possibility that something like that could happen.”
Armed with a 4-foot bubble level, Scott Reister drove to the site and studied the monument in question, which stands near an Applebee's restaurant.
The result: straight as could be.
Reister owns the landscape architecture firm in Rock Hill that oversaw the installation this summer.
“The person who wrote it can take an instrument and check it himself if he'd like to,” Reister said. “Obviously, the guy is disgruntled about the project. If you're going to say someone's work is faulty, then you need to have some proof.”
When he first heard the charge, Reister figured it was a joke. “I was, like, seriously? Someone thinks it's leaning?”
Now, Reister suspects an optical illusion is at play. When viewed from some angles, the tower and a companion across the street can appear tilted because of changes in slope.
A snazzier look
The monuments are part of a $3 million streetscape project that included sidewalks, curbs and lighting along the city's main commercial corridor. Crews also installed a pair of bell tower-style towers along Interstate 77 for $75,000 each.
Supporters argue a snazzier Dave Lyle can help the area compete with newer shopping districts such as Fort Mill's Baxter Village. Money comes from a special tax district set up to spur revitalization in the area, they point out.
But the criticism continues. Before he made the leaning charge, letter writer John Whitmore of Rock Hill put it this way:
“When the traffic backs up and vehicle congestion is bumper-to-bumper, I am sure that the public is not going to look over and say, ‘What nice towers we have.' ”
Critics are entitled to their views, Okey said. But no one should doubt the craftsmanship. Architects spent months on design, and masons laid one brick at a time.
Said Okey: “I think you could shoot a rocket to the moon off that thing.”
Matt Garfield 803-329-4063
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