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After seeing this structure in Colorado springs my whole life, I finally got around to investigating it. I've always have wanted to climb up it since I was a little kid, sadly it's on top of a active fortified building
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Try cranes.
You're not weird if you're not normal. |
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There are two downtown... Location is pretty obvious. Wouldn't want to be caught on them, pretty sure you'd have half of CSPD's officers waiting for you at the base.
"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either."
-Ben Franklin |
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Yeah lol. I've just always seen them standing there for the last 20 years, I just figure they were old towers because they looked rusty
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these are part of the old long lines telephone system. most of it with the giant feed horns is unused as far as I am aware. I saw this the other day myself and thought it was great, since most of these have been dismantled.
Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job
WRONG fourteen times gives you job security. |
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Posted by kc
these are part of the old long lines telephone system. most of it with the giant feed horns is unused as far as I am aware. I saw this the other day myself and thought it was great, since most of these have been dismantled.
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Rare to see the waveguides and horns intact.
Bet the whole control room is too.
I've been in an intact one... way cool.
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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there cool I've been to one near Scranton PA.
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These are all over the country. They are AT&T radio towers. They beamed radio waves between the towers for long distance calls, before the days of VoIP and fiber optics. Some towers are still used for weather instruments or have cell antenna mounted to them. But most, are just plain dead....
Give abandonment a reason for its sacrificial reclamation to nature. Love it. Remember it. Take a picture. Share it. Leave the decay to nature.
Lifetime member of The Anti-MyInstaTubeTweetFace consortium. |
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Posted by kc
these are part of the old long lines telephone system. most of it with the giant feed horns is unused as far as I am aware.
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Right on. The Tx and Rx "feed horns" are focused radio transmitters and receiver antenna, aimed directly at the next tower in the network. Sorta like CB radios, with a much longer range...
Give abandonment a reason for its sacrificial reclamation to nature. Love it. Remember it. Take a picture. Share it. Leave the decay to nature.
Lifetime member of The Anti-MyInstaTubeTweetFace consortium. |
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Good info to know from this thread. They have one in downtown Portland, Oregon & I thought it might be a weird art installation. Cause uh, yeah, there’s lots of those up there.
Curiosity killed the cat, but the cat had fun. voiddiver.com |
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Hmm, well this reminded me of something cool I spotted when I visited a friend in the Springs earlier this summer. I tried for a while to find it on google maps (should be easy to spot, I think) but its basically a tall hotel with a big star and some other antenna-ish stuff on top. Anyone know what I'm talking about and maybe have a name for it?
I imagine that it would be pretty darn hard to actually make it up there though.
The sort of equipment you have in your photo may no longer be good for communications, but it would definitely make an entertaining set of monkey bars! Thanks for sharing
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Posted by Maven
Hmm, well this reminded me of something cool I spotted when I visited a friend in the Springs earlier this summer. I tried for a while to find it on google maps (should be easy to spot, I think) but its basically a tall hotel with a big star and some other antenna-ish stuff on top. Anyone know what I'm talking about and maybe have a name for it?
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This place?
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That's the Satellite Hotel, off Airport and Academy. http://satellitehotel.net/
"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either."
-Ben Franklin |
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Are you from around there? I wonder if the roof is accessible because of how old the building is. That is a sweet looking rooftop
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Wow, doesn't even look like they've tried to capitalize the tower by having some cellphone antennas on it.
Contrary to what someone else wrote, a lot of times the old microwave antennas are simply abandoned in-place (in telco vernacular, RIP -- "Retired In Place') because it's an expensive hassle to remove them, and if the tower is bare, then locals can start talking about it being an eyesore, etc. & put pressure on the owner to remove the tower.
The building looks like it was built back in the 1940s or 1950s, when telco gear like switches were electromechanical & took-up a lot of space. There's probably a lot of unused space inside today.
Why don't you do some checking & find out who actually owns & operates the building today, then check with your local newspaper to see if they'd be interested in a freelance, local-interest story about the building. Then contact the owner/operator of the building & see if they'd be willing to help you out with a public interest story. Especially if they know you've got the support of local press, they may forgo the normal "We're critical-infrastructure, and cannot have publicity due to security reasons!" quasi-bullshit & cooperate with you, as-long as you can demonstrate to them that you're NOT what unfortunately you seem to be -- a young guy that doesn't care about the history of the place, just wants a cheap-thrill & boasting-rights to climb the old microwave tower.
If they pull the "We're high security, go-away!" crap with you, you can bluff & say "I'm doing the story anyway, but now a prominent aspect of the news story will be your failure to be a good local business-neighbor & cooperate, perhaps because you have a secret NSA or FBI presences used to eavesdrop on our communications." That may convince them it's in their best interests to cooperate.
/-/ooligan
There are no stupid questions, just stupid people. |
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I'm honestly surprised that no one else has linked to this yet:
https://long-lines.net/
Whole wealth of data about the long lines system there.
I'm currently trying to map out the Trans-Canadian Skyway long line system on Google Earth, and I've managed to find most of them from Vancouver right through to Montreal. Haven't gone through to the east coast yet due being busy.
Abandoned UE - http://www.abandonedue.com
"We live in a twilight world... and there are no friends at dusk." |
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Posted by Captain Chernobyl
Are you from around there? I wonder if the roof is accessible because of how old the building is. That is a sweet looking rooftop
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The penthouse of the Satellite Hotel was originally a restaurant and in later years, it housed a radio station. Not sure what's there now. I left in 1990.
There are some moderately interesting drains around town. Up around Academy and T-Gap. Also Academy and Montebello as well along Powers Blvd near Constitution.
Colorado Springs was a fun town 30 years ago.
I used to live near N. Tejon and Willamette.
In order to use your head, you have to go out of your mind. |
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