Save Ferris, But Trash the Tower

Yes, it is time to mourn yet another iconic Eighties reference point. The Northbrook, Illinois water tower made famous in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is under threat of replacement . As reported in triblocal.com,

Bids being accepted to replace ‘Ferris Bueller’ water tower

Hoping to solve longstanding water pressure issues, Northbrook is seeking bids to build a new 1 million-gallon spheroid-shaped tower — doubling the village’s water supply — even though it might spell the end of the tower made famous in a 1986 movie…[snip]…Hovering overhead for six decades, the blue golf-ball-shaped tank even had a supporting role in the 1986 John Hughes film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” when the words “Save Ferris” were emblazoned on it for several months during shooting.

You remember the scene, right? If you checked out the script on imsdb.com, you’d find the precise moment where the proud tower shone in the spotlight:

We love the Eighties but realistically, times are tough and even in a posh suburb like Northbrook, there’s precious little wiggle room in city budgets for silly sentimentality.

“For most of the people who live in Northbrook, it’s always been there,” Gardner said. “I think some people will miss it, for awhile anyway.”

With maintenance costs and the potential to overflow under the higher pressure, nostalgia may not be enough to save the old tower.

“I would like to keep it, if it were economically feasible, but you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars every time you paint it,” Gardner said .  “It can’t be just emotion.”

I can’t argue with saving money…which is why I think I’ll grab this consolation prize right now, while it’s economically feasible, from 6dollarshirts.com!