I've lived in Dubuque, IA (there's a picture of our shot tower in the article) my entire life, and assumed that everyone knew what these were. It's a iconic symbol in our city's history. I guess I took them for granted.
Me too, I lived in Bristol (also in the article, and where the original inventor lived). Sadly the shot tower has since shut down and been converted to a penthouse (I think - the article says offices, but I'm 99% sure the tower itself became an apartment).
