The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is on the lookout for money to replace a popular attraction at Door County’s Peninsula State Park.
Officials closed Eagle Tower to the public last year after three separate studies found the wooden, 1930s-era observation deck to be unsafe due to decaying timbers.
The agency estimates the rebuild cost will be at least $200,000, not including labor or the cost of razing the original structure.
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Jerry Leiterman, parks and trails supervisor for the DNR’s Northeast District said state government is committed to replacing the tower, though the design and materials and are yet to be determined, as is where to find the money.
“It’s been part of Peninsula State Park since the 1930s. It’s created thousands and thousands of memories,” Leiterman said. “So yeah, it’s part of the fabric of the state park system and also the local community in Door County.”
Realistically, Leiterman said, it might take a mix of public and private money to get the new tower built.
“There is not money earmarked within the DNR for the Eagle Tower project,” he said. “That is a big issue that needs to be discussed and this could go a lot of different ways.”
Leiterman said public discussions are being scheduled on the matter and regardless of how it’s paid for, he hopes to have an observation tower at Peninsula State Park open sometime next year.
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