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CLEARWATER
When beachgoers visit Clearwater Beach, they'll now get a taste of Key West, the Everglades and Seaside. The three Florida locations are represented in three newly designed lifeguard towers. Taller and more colorful than the towers they replaced and featuring enclosed shelter for lifeguards, the new towers began arriving at the beach in late March. "It's in keeping with all of the new improvements we've done down there," said Art Kader, Clearwater assistant parks and recreation director. "We thought it was time to spruce them up."
There are five lifeguard towers on the beach, but only three sport the new designs. The remaining two towers will be replaced later this year.
"They're about 15 years old, and anything on the beach for 15 years gets pretty weathered," Clearwater Beach recreation supervisor JP Atherholt said of the old towers. "The city spent a lot of money on Beach Walk there, so they're trying to clean up the whole area."
The cost of each tower varied depending on the design, but they ranged from $20,000 to $24,000, Kader said.
The towers feature windows that can be opened and closed, but lifeguard Donovan Burns said the best part about the new towers is their height, about 2 feet taller than the old towers.
"We have a better visibility of the water, because our main purpose is to watch the swimmers," Burns said.
The new design also features a taller mast for beach warning flags, which indicate surf conditions. Now, the warning flags are visible from Gulfview Boulevard.
Local architect Bill Fisher, who donated his firm's services to the project, came up with the idea of designing new lifeguard towers while he was walking along Clearwater Beach with his wife.
"What they had before was hideous," Fisher said. "I made the comment that we could do better and put something back into Clearwater."
Fisher's firm decided to showcase architectural styles throughout Florida, holding a contest within the firm to determine which styles would be represented. When the final two lifeguard towers are replaced, their styles will be a surprise, he said.
Tower 1, representing the Everglades, features brown and tan wood and a curving roof. Farther up the beach, Tower 2 displays the pastels common to Key West homes. Tower 3 showcases the master-planned architecture of Seaside.
Burns said he appreciates the new towers for their function, not their fashion, but visitors to Clearwater Beach may have a different view.
"We've seen a lot of tourists taking pictures next to them," Atherholt said.
Katie Park can be reached at (727) 445-4154 or kpark@sptimes.com.
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