Garrison Hill Park and Tower

Garrison Hill Tower
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
File:Garrison Hill Park Tower, Dover, New Hampshire.JPG
Garrison Hill Tower photographed from Garrison Hill
Location	Abbey Sawyer Memorial Dr., Dover, New Hampshire
Coordinates
Area	8.5 acres (3.4 ha)
Built	1993
NRHP Reference #	87001413
Added to NRHP	September 11, 1987

Garrison Hill Tower is a 76-foot-tall (23 m) observatory atop Garrison Hill (298 feet (91 m) high) in Dover, New Hampshire, United States. The current tower, made of iron painted green, was built in 1993 and is the third tower to exist on the hill. The park in which it stands is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

History

In 1880, when the top of Garrison Hill was owned by Joseph Ham and Harrison Haley, Haley purchased—for $1,000—a 65-foot-high (20 m) wooden observatory designed by architect B. D. Stewart and opened it to the public. The observatory contained a restaurant in the base, and offered a telescope through which the public could view Mount Washington. The city acquired the property in 1888 and continued to operate it as a public park. The city also built a reservoir (since filled in) on the site.

After the wooden observatory burned down in 1911, Abbey Sawyer commissioned a replacement, made of steel, to honor her husband. She also funded the construction of a new roadway (the present Abbey Sawyer Memorial Drive) to the summit, replacing the former carriage road (now a foot path). The tower, erected in 1913, was taken down in 1990 due to safety concerns, and a third tower (the one now standing) was built by volunteers. On a clear day, one can view the White Mountains and the Isles of Shoals from atop the tower.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Strafford County, New Hampshire