My parents never took me here, despite my most irritating pleas. They knew a tourist trap from 100 miles away.
This tower (about 60 feet above the incredibly flat eastern Colorado plain) was built in 1926 by railroad engineer and entrepreneur Charles W. Gregory. Don't let the crowd of cars parked outside the tower fool you - they're all rusting hulks placed there by the current owners to create the illusion of popularity. From a distance, the people you see on the tower are actually dummies. Chances are when you arrive you'll be the only visitor.
At one time, this roadside Mecca featured a restaurant, a motel and gas station. When I-70 was built and the town of Limon became the place to stop, the tower hit hard times. If Gregory had simply built his tower six miles to the west, it would have survived the shift in traffic patterns. Location, location, location...
An admission fee of $1 gets you inside. There, you won't be disappointed. The current owners have a grand assortment of freak animals including a two headed calf, an eight-footed pig and a one eyed pig. A mummified Indian (once wired for sound) has been removed.
The rest of the place is nothing more than a yard sale posing as a museum.
If you plan to ascend the tower, be prepared for a steep climb. The tower's claim that you'll be able to see six states has only been verified by the master of truth and honesty, Ripley's Believe It or Not. On a haze-free day, you'll be able to see Colorado (of course), Kansas and Nebraska. Maybe Wyoming's and New Mexico's mountain ranges with some high powered binoculars. Due to the tower's relatively low height and the curvature of the Earth, the ability to see South Dakota is greatly exaggerated.
Still, this is a roadside attraction not to be missed.
Feedback: Do you have corrections or contributions for this page? Want to make a suggestion? Click here to send me an e-mail. I am espcially interested in memories, stories, postcards and photographs. Thanks!
