The Lighthouse Keeper
FOOLS' NAMES
BY DANIEL W. DRAKE
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Our old friend, the Historic District Commission, has it wrong. It is tempting to say "again", but, in this instance, that would be inaccurate, because what it has done this time is both unprecedented and totally at odds with...well, with lots of things.

Not having been present at the meeting when the HDC approved the Water Company's applications for two new water towers, I don't know what powers of persuasion it used to persuade the town-owned utility to spend $20,000 of the rate payers' money to paint "Nantucket" in six-foot high letters on two sides of the tower that will be located in the far reaches of the mid-island area. It was not reported on which sides of the tower the signs will be painted; south, east, west, north, east southeast, north southwest. It doesn't matter. It happened.

It was reported that, "The three commissioners (favoring the sign) argued that this elevated storage tank could stand a little more creativity than the fogcolored paint of the town's existing Washing Pond water tank." Surely, they remember how the blackpainted - and much smaller - predecessor of the Washing Pond tank stood out like the proverbial thumb against the sky from any direction, in almost any light and from many miles away. (If they don't remember, they probably shouldn't be on the HDC.) And surely, they have (or haven't) noticed how the color scheme of the present tank actually makes it blend in better with the sky in many lights. Unlike the old tower, which was usually the first thing one saw approaching on the ferry, in the twilight of Tuesday evening, the Washing Pond water tower did not become visible until long after other of the island's geographic and man-made features came into view.

The chairman nobly suggested that there should be a contest to determine how the water tower should be decorated. Apparently, then, not unlike the contest to name the Iyanough, this contest was limited to three entrants, who, reaching into the depths of their collective creativity, came up with the letters N-A-NT U-C-K-E-T (in that order) as the grand prize winner. Anyone who can point to the section of "Building with Nantucket In Mind" from which such a result could be predicted will be rewarded with the opportunity to unveil the sign on the south northeast side of the tower in front of an audience of pine trees.

It is truly unprecedented that the entire exterior decor of a structure on Nantucket be dictated by the HDC. They dabble in paint colors and roof lines and fenestration, but to reserve for themselves the determination of the entire paint job is...well, breath-taking.

And for the record, the decision is at odds with both town and HDC policies. It flies in the face of the town's general practice of having as few signs as it can get away with to tell people how to get where they want to go. It goes against the core of the HDC's policy against any outdoor advertising and, if deemed "art," it certainly gives the HDC no cause to complain in the future about anyone's outdoor art, particularly since this tower/sign combination will dwarf even the largest piece of red steel on the island.

Then, given the tower's location, nestled in to the edge of the State Forest, who is going to see and use this sign? Maybe, the tour buses will make a special stop to view the tower - and permit the tourists a reality check

At the same time it was playing fast and loose with public funds on the one water tower, the HDC declined to take similar action on the new tower to be built in Siasconset. Despite being importuned by local civic types and others, the HDC decided that unembellished "fog colored paint" was just fine for our neighbors to the east.

This overlooks the fact that both whales and ruffians coming ashore at the east end would very much like an easy way to figure out where they are and a large black sign saying "Sconset" (with no apostrophe) on a fog colored protrusion would stand out amongst many fog-covered protrusions.

The story said that a commission member in favor of the signage on the State Forest tank cited "...water tanks around the state with the name of their towns painted on them as examples." A four day visit to America over this past weekend was a great opportunity to test the hypothesis that this was a common occurrence. A survey was undertaken.

An almost 700 mile drive, starting next to the water tower that dominates the Barnstable skyline, going up though Massachusetts, the southeast corner of New Hampshire and up into Maine, and returning for a drive-by of the Mashpee water tower revealed.... It is surprising how little it revealed. The number of water towers that could be seen on both highways and by-ways was surprisingly small. (Maybe they were there, but invisible because of their fog-colored paint jobs!) A statistician might say that that the sample was statistically meaningless...but for one thing. Not one of the eight or ten water towers that comprised the survey had the name of the hosting municipality on it. Not one! A small water tower, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire had "US NAVY" painted on it, but that is important, since Portsmouth likes to know that its oft-threatened navy base is still there.

Yes, there is a bit of art, but for whatever reason, it is limited to gas tanks. The huge one in South Boston is interesting, but gets a bit tiresome the more one goes by it. The only other one was in southern Maine. It sported a large, totally disproportionate lobster. In any other moment, the HDC, if presented with the same plan, would have sent it back for revision in a milli-second. Maybe the next time the downtown storage tanks are painted they should be adorned with images of stripers or scallops.

One suspects that towns paint their names on their water towers because they want to be noticed by passing wagon trains or teams of mapmakers or show up well in movies. Nantucket is fortunate in that it does not to need to be singled out - and certainly not by passing submarines.

Can the HDC take another unprecedented step and admit that it was wrong on the water tower sign? Let's hope so.

The "Lighthouse Keeper" reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Nantucket Independent. Please send any comments to drake@nantucketindependent.com.