Leaning tower of Kimball

There has been no bell in the bell tower atop Kimball’s historic city hall building. It did house an old weather warning siren that has had operational problems for many years, and there was a tall wooden pole of some kind attached at the point of the tower. It is that pole that best indicated the serious “lean” of the tower over recent months.

As of Friday morning, Jan. 5, however, the tower is gone. It was carefully removed by a crew with a crane. And the roof has already been patched where the bell tower once stood proudly.

Kimball’s city hall is on the Minnesota Register of Historic Buildings and, as such, any modification to the original building requires paperwork and approval. The bell tower, however, was not part of the original building.

The sirens inside the tower were turned off back in August when the lean of the tower became prominent. It was feared that the spinning movement of the sirens could further move or damage the tower. There are much newer sirens at the Kimball Fire Hall and at the corner of Highway 55 and County Road 44, and these work better for reaching city residents.

As for the pole atop the bell tower, it is not a lightning rod as it appears (a lightning rod would be metal). It may have been a flag pole at some point. It also will not be replaced.