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MOUNT VERNON — When will Ariel-Foundation Park’s Rastin Tower reopen?
As of 3 p.m. Monday, April 10, the tower reopened, the park’s executive director Mark Fritz said.
On April 7, an Ariel-Foundation Park Facebook post stated, “Rastin Tower is closed until further notice due to electronic issues with the ingress/egress gates. We apologize for this inconvenience to all our park visitors who enjoy the challenge of walking up to the observation deck. We are working diligently to correct this issue as soon as practicable.”
The tower officially closed April 3, but reports of problems occurred the week prior, Fritz said.
Before 3 p.m. Monday, April 10, park staff were waiting for parts to come in to fix the gates, specifically the button and counter that allows 50 people into the tower at a time, Fritz said.
In order to fix the problem, plastic buttons were placed on the gates, allowing guests to enter the tower, Fritz said. He added that he’s ordered commercial buttons and they will arrive in the coming week or so.
Before the tower was shut down, people were stuck inside the 224-step tower due to the decommissioned button.
On March 29, an individual stuck in the tower stated to 911 dispatch “someone removed the face to the button to get out of the tower gate.” The caller was able to use a stick to push the button to get out, according to the police report.
