This Michigan City Has A Very Tall One Of These

When you think of small cities, they usually have one redeeming quirk to them. New Baltimore may be one of those small cities, but they have a very big quirk.

History of New Baltimore and Its Water Tower

New Baltimore, located in Macomb County, is a city along the coast of Lake St Clair with a population of 12,005. In the city's early years, it was known for its waterfront location as a hub for export ships. In 1949, a 150-foot water tower on the shoreline was erected to help guide boaters home until it was demolished in 2015.

However, the community still wanted something there to represent the history of the area. A local club, the New Baltimore Lions Club, wanted to place a flagpole at the location of where the water tower was. But instead of just installing any normal ol' flagpole, the Club discovered that if they made it a little taller than the water tower, it would be the largest in the state.

How big is the Flagpole and Its Flag?

The Flagpole comes in at 160 feet tall, weighs 80 tons, has a foundation 7 feet in diameter by 30 feet deep, has three lights that shine at 23,000 luminaries each, and has a red solar navigational light that allows for the 30x50 foot flag to be seen several miles around. The Club was able to fundraise all $107,000, successfully building the pole without any use of city, county, or state taxes. This is wildly impressive, considering if I found out my hard-earned money went to a flagpole, I probably wouldn't have been too ecstatic.

What is the largest flagpole in the world?

While this flagpole is the largest in Michigan, it doesn't even come close to the size of the largest flagpole in the world. That title belongs to the Jeddah Flagpole in Saudia Arabia, which stands at a whopping 561 ft tall (!!). 

Video of the Flag being raised