About the Flagpole

A commenter on City Hall makeovers asked, "While we are at it ... Can we please get our flag pole back up?"

The very tall wooden flagpole (perhaps 50 feet?) that was in front of City Hall rotted at the base and was cut down before it could fall down. Check out Plaintalker's "Flagpole: Fail" post here. The pole is now reposing along a fence next to the building.

At the time, there was some notion of trimming the bottom and replacing the pole in its concrete base. However, in the intervening 10 months the city has had a turnover at the top of the Department of Public Works & Urban Development and other things have come up, like coping with a couple of massive blizzards. Currently there is no director, and anyway, restoring the flagpole is probably way down the to-do list, what with seasonal chores, road maintenance and all the many day-to-day responsibilities of the department.

Meanwhile, the wooden pole has been lying on the ground and, as will happen in the urban environment, it has become a sort of bench for the group that hangs around the 500 block of Watchung Avenue. While waiting at the 59 bus stop last week, I saw a half dozen or more individuals sitting on the flagpole, socializing. Just before I took photos tonight, a woman was sitting on the pole (a lot easier this way than in the early 20th century form of flagpole sitting).

Ten months on the ground in the elements have taken a toll on the flagpole, which has cracks under its fading paint. It is unlikely that a new wooden pole could be obtained, as most nowadays are aluminum or fiberglass. The cost of replacement with a modern pole could run into thousands of dollars.

The flagpole ball, pulleys and ropes are deteriorated and would have to be replaced even if the original flagpole could be restored to use.

Given the city's budget constraints, a new flagpole is more likely to come about through a citizen effort or special funding than by spending public dollars. It was a citizen effort that resulted in the Veterans' Memorial being erected on City Hall grounds. In 2006, the Special Improvement District organization received city permission to erect a 30-foot flagpole in the Plainwood Square Park.

So, dear readers, now you know about the flagpole. What happens next may be up to you.

--Bernice