Community

The Odessa Spire, referred to by some as the West Texas Eiffel Tower, just got a deep cleaning, according to the city.

Odessa-based Giant Rent & Wash used a long-range chemical pump to apply an eco-friendly degreaser and rinsed the large piece of art with hot water and low pressure, the city said. It then washed the base with hot water, removing accumulated organic matter.

The job took about three hours in all, said Austin James, owner of Giant Rent & Wash.

“When Odessa Arts first approached us with the request to clean the spire, we were deeply honored,” James said.

While it was a relatively quick job, the cleaning was planned “meticulously” to ensure the Spire’s preservation, the city said.

The Odessa Spire derives from a community effort started in 2014 to renovate the Old Cloth World Sign, which dates back to the 1970s. Previous to that, the structure served as signage for the Rock Hill Springs Shopping Center, which was created in the 1950s. After talking with local residents and neighbors, Odessa Arts took on the project to restore the sign and make it bigger and better than before.

See the Odessa Arts video below for more of the history on the Odessa Spire and other public artworks around the city. For more information, visit the Odessa Arts website here.