Credit: Google Maps
If you’ve ever been on a long road trip and needed a sign you were back home, the 145-foot-tall water tower that features Sesame Place characters visible from I-295 has likely been it.
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That tower in Middletown Township could soon be demolished.
The Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority recently put out a request for bids to tear down the aging tower that has been in place for decades, authority spokesperson Brian Dries told the Bucks County Courier Times, which first reported on the plan.
The newspaper quoted Dries as saying the tower has been out of use for several years and other local water towers are used by the authority.
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The tower appears to need a facelift as it ages. Last week, a LevittownNow.com reporter noticed the Sesame Place advertising on the tower was peeling off the metal structure.
The tower previously belonged to Middletown Township’s water authority, but it became part of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority when it bought that system.
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Over the years, the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority rented space on the water tower to Sesame Place.
In 1993, the light-blue tower that is 168-feet wide was plastered with Sesame Place advertising. First, it was painted and then in 2002 more than 700 vinyl pieces were stuck to the tower, according to archival news reports from 6abc and the Bucks County Courier Times.
The 2002 design won an award for its design.
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At the time it was installed, the water tower’s 74-foot images of Elmo, Big Bird, and other Sesame Street characters was the nation’s largest vinyl-wrapped water tower.
Between 2009 and 2011, the tower got another facelift with the theme park’s latest marketing materials, according to Google Maps images.
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While there are several water towers in the Levittown area, the Sesame Place-branded tower is the only one with advertising.
The Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority serves numerous towns in Bucks County, including Hulmeville Borough, Langhorne Borough, Langhorne Manor Borough, Penndel Borough, and Middletown Township.
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