Cary water tank, backdrop for senior selfies, will still honor Cary High Class of 2019
A Cary landmark popular with high school students is getting a makeover.
The Maynard Road water tower has stood near Cary High School since 1966. It’s been a magnet for graffiti artists who proclaimed their senior class pride. In the early 1990s, the town took over the annual ritual of painting the tank in honor of the next graduating class.
Now the water tank is getting a major overhaul that will obscure its homage to the Class of 2019.
Alex Lopez, an engineer in Cary’s water resources department, said all the paint on the water tower will be blasted away. The inside also will be serviced. This routine maintenance is needed about every 15 years, according to town documents.
It will take several months to complete the work. But the exterior should be repainted before the end of the summer, Lopez said.
“We should be ready to paint the Class of 2020 before school starts,” he said. “We want to ensure that we maintain our hometown tradition of painting it in time for the next class of graduating seniors. We recognize the importance of the tank in our community.”
The Class of 2019 was added last summer but will soon be covered with a shroud to prevent dust and paint overspray from drifting beyond the tower’s half-acre lot. A banner with the Class of 2019 will be attached to the shroud to keep the tradition going, Lopez said.
That’s welcome news to seniors at Cary High School.
“It is a big tradition at our school, and it is a very big deal to have your class be on the water tower,” said Cary High School Senior Class President Andrew Thornton. “Whenever you drive to school or drive from school, you see it over our entire campus.”
Thornton said he hasn’t heard much chatter from classmates about the water tower project but thought that might change once the tank is covered. The tank provides a dramatic backdrop for students taking pictures to capture their high school memories, he said.
“I am kind of disappointed it won’t be out there when we graduate,” Thornton said. “And we won’t be able to see it for the last couple of months of our senior year, but at the same time we understand why they need to refurbish the water tower.”
The tank, which holds about 500,000 gallons of water for central Cary, also provides revenue for the town. Cary collects about $150,000 per year from cellphone companies that use it to hold their antennas. Refurbishing the water tank will cost about $738,420., according to town documents.
About six years ago, the town considered tearing down the 250-foot water tower. It’s the oldest tank in Cary’s water system. A petition circulated then and about 1,800 signatures helped save the beloved tank.
“It is really an iconic landmark so we want to take every step possible to ensure our seniors this year aren’t shortchanged,” Lopez said. “They’re still recognized as the other classes have been, and it will continue into the future.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2019 at 11:33 AM.