Return to Year Books

by Lynne Belluscio Leroy Pennysaver, March, 2006

After I wrote the article about Rib-Stone silos, I had a chance to talk with Kermit Arrington who worked at Rib-Stone during the 1940's. He had some great information and some interesting stories which I will be including in the next Historical Society Newsletter. He told about repairing Don Woodward's "tower" on Asbury Road. On Sunday, I drove out that way to take a look at it. There is a power line going up to it. The last I heard, it was owned by a professor from RIT, but it looks deserted. It was built in 1926 and was considered the only one of its kind in the world. The hill that it was built on was thought to be the highest point in Genesee County.

When the tower was built, Woodward planned on using it as a party house for his friends and business associates. It rose 45 feet in the air and was five stories high, with four floors. (Kermit remembers the four landings inside the tower when he was there.)Woodward had it lavishly furnished. Each floor was furnished differently with most of the furniture being specially made. It was equipped with a bathroom and kitchen and a dumb waiter served the entire structure. The top floor contained telescopes and other "instruments" for viewing the surrounding area. It was said that on a clear day you could see the city of Rochester and Lake Ontario, thirty miles away. A newspaper account mentions that "after its installation, it behooves those of us who reside within reach of its lens to conduct ourselves with becoming propriety and discretion." The tower was built of the ribbed cement tiles that were used to build Rib-Stone silos. Large metal bands were strapped around the outside and were held together with lugs. Kermit remembers going out to tighten some of the bands. The tower became one of the pylons for the air races that were held at the Donald Woodward Airport. In 1937, the tower was a designated landmark for the German grand zeppelin Hindenberg on its fateful trip to New Jersey. During World War II the tower was used as an aircraft observation point to watch for enemy planes. I'm not sure when it was sold, but it has changed hands several times.