By Margaret Bauer
Cellphone towers hide all over the place these days, in everything from fake chimneys to fake palm trees, fake cactuses to fake ... crosses? Yep—that last one’s coming soon to a church near you, via CIS Communications’ November proposal to conceal a U.S. Cellular tower inside a 95-foot cross at Way of Faith Christian Center in Alton.
The Saved!-style giant cross will provide a steady stream of revenue for the church, leading us to wonder: Why haven’t more civic institutions taken advantage of the burgeoning cell market? We can think of several local landmarks that could benefit from going wireless.
The Brooks Catsup Bottle: Electrifying our favorite kitschy water tower could put Collinsville’s World’s Largest Catsup Bottle Summerfest on solid financial footing for years to come. • The Saint Louis Zoo’s south entrance tower: Those three vertical letters (Z-O-O) spell B-A-R-S for phone-toting visitors and $-$-$ for endangered species. • The Airway Drive-In majorette: Long a beacon unto our hearts, that sassy neon lass will be a beacon unto our phones. • The Arch: At 630 feet, the free-standing steel structure is the tallest for miles around—a natural gateway to better cell reception.
