This is a special gift given to me by my wife, Jenny.
Why is it special?
(1) Jenny handmade it for my birthday, July 12th, this year. It was a thoughtful gift.
(2) I collect souvenir buildings, and am a member of the Souvenir Building Collector Society. You might want to join.
We tried to go to their convention this year, since they are regional and it was in New England in 2018. But as happens, tragedy struck and we had to cancel our reservations.
Anyway, we have been trying to find a small replica of the Standpipe for awhile. All the building replicas and movie figures in the world, and no Standpipe? Why not?
Well, there is one replica I was able to track down, but since Jenny couldn't obtain it, I like hers better.
This giant replica of the Thomas Hill Standpipe is located at the
Bangor International Airport.
Forced perspective?
The real thing.
Bangor, Maine = Stephen King's "Derry, Maine."
(3) The building, the Thomas Hill Standpipe, is an architectural marvel of Bangor, Maine, Jenny's hometown. The metal water tank is 50 feet high and 75 feet in diameter, and built in 1897.
(4) The Standpipe is an important background "character" in the 1986 novel, Stephen King's It; Stephen King's It, the 1990 television miniseries; and Andy Muschietti's It: Chapter One, the 2017 film.
And finally...
(5) Stephen King's It has Pennywise, and you folks know how important Phantom Clowns are to me.
Thomas Hill Standpipe, which holds 1,750,000 US gallons (6,600,000 L) of water, is a riveted wrought iron tank with a wood frame jacket located on Thomas Hill in Bangor, Maine, United States. The metal tank is 50 feet (15 m) high and 75 feet (23 m) in diameter. Built in 1897, it is an architecturally distinctive city landmark, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Source.
Now back to watching for breaking news of the Fayette name game, Killer Clowns, Waffle House shootings, and Bunnymen!
1 comment:
I wonder why King chose the name Derry for his fictionalized Bangor. Derry, Northern Ireland, is where my father's family emigrated from before arriving in the U.S. (County Derry is also the ancestral homeland of former Vice President Joe Biden.)
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