The Iowa Hawkeyes are bidding farewell to a landmark that has stood watch over the program for years. Located just outside the northeast corner of Kinnick Stadium, its history serves as a visual timeline of the University of Iowa’s athletic program’s growth.

The iconic 66-year-old Hawkins Drive water tower, which has served as a perfect, recognizable backdrop to the stadium, is being demolished. The tower is being removed to make room for the University of Iowa Health Care campus expansion.

The water tower was built in the 1960s with a capacity of 750,000 gallons. It was built to provide water and water pressure to the University of Iowa Hospitals. For many years, it served only as a plain, functional tower.

When Hayden Fry, the legendary head coach of Iowa, took over the program, it was struggling to keep itself afloat. Fry entered the program with one aim: to completely overhaul the team’s identity. He commissioned an art director named Bill Colbert to create a fierce logo for the program.

Colbert designed the logo on a napkin during a commercial flight. The famous “Tiger Hawk” logo was born, and after 58 years, in 2018, it was on the water tank. The University of Iowa Athletics Department spent roughly $30,000 to officially brand the structure.

The university hired a company to paint a massive, 24-foot-wide Tiger Hawk logo facing the inside of the stadium. They also added IOWA in bold letters on the water tank. The rest is history, and it became an anchor. It was featured in many game-day broadcast shots. On July 10, construction officially began a multi-week process of dismantling the iconic 1960 tower piece by piece using heavy cranes.

The water tower has not been in use for some time. The University now has a new water tower in Parking Lot 75. As per the program, keeping the inactive tower in place would have caused “safety and regulatory concerns, including risks associated with stagnant water, aging electrical infrastructure, and maintenance requirements.”

Iowa fans react to the news of the demolition of the iconic building

While the idea of a hospital is to provide better healthcare to students, it has triggered a wave of bittersweet reactions from fans. For students and fans, the tower wasn’t just a building; it was part of the Kinnick Stadium aura. During the sunset night games, the tank became a perfect backdrop.

“It’s incredibly sad to see a piece of my childhood game days get torn down. But knowing that it’s being replaced by more hospital beds to save more children makes it the easiest goodbye we’ll ever have to say,” one fan said.

Despite the sadness over losing a piece of football tradition, the vast majority of the fanbase supports the move. To pay their homage to the iconic building, many hundreds of fans, students, and alumni gathered at Kinnick Stadium. They took final family photos and “selfies” with the tower in the background.