Town Set to Vote on Burger Water Tank
The proponents of a yearslong campaign to get one town's water tower painted like a giant hamburger are cooking with gas now, as a collection of design renderings are up for a public vote.
The town of Hamburg, New York, near Buffalo, has been the site of a mounting drive to have an out-of-commission elevated steel water storage tank repainted to resemble the staple of American cuisine. The multi-column Hamburg tank, within sight of the New York State Thruway, is already shaped a bit like a round sandwich anyway, and resident Chris Hannotte Luly, who graduated from the Leadership Buffalo program in 2016, made it her mission last year to bring the meaty vision to fruition.
Late last year, the town's council approved a plan for Luly to begin fundraising for the project, after determining that the tower is structurally sound, and also uncovering lead paint that would balloon the cost of the aesthetic renovation. Luly had spearheaded a petition that got more than 2,000 signatures prior to the council decision.
The job could cost up to $1 million, Luly says, and the money will have to be raised from private donors and via fundraising efforts including T-shirt sales featuring the chosen design.
The Designs
There are four finalists up for vote right now: designs by Scott Schranz of Nickle City Designs, Casey Milbrand of CWM Designs, muralist Tim Martin and RidgeLogic Development's Dylan Cownie.
Schranz's entry incorporates text in a more abstract design that conveys "hamburger" most from afar. Milbrand's, titled "Blue Sky Burger," incorporates unexpected colors and appears to include architectural french-fry details. Martin's, reportedly the initial favorite according to early election returns, is a realistic take on a classic burger, with bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, ketchup and mayo, with cheese on both sides of the patty. (If he doesn't win the contest, Martin may at least have a future as an in-demand sandwich artist.) And Cownie's design uses bright colors in a cartoonish take on the burger.
All four designs can be viewed at the campaign's website, www.hamburgerwatertower.com.
