Supertall "Flagpole of Freedom" in Maine

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Hubman

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The owner of a wreath company wants to build a 1400-foot flagpole-shaped building with an observation deck on top and a monument with the name of every veteran ever in Maine:

AUGUSTA (WGME) -- Plans have been unveiled for what would be the world's tallest flagpole.
Tuesday in Augusta, the founder of Wreaths Across America unveiled plans for the Flagpole of Freedom Park in Columbia Falls, which is in Downeast Maine.
Organizers say it would be the only place in the country to honor all 24 million American veterans in one location.
The plans feature the world's largest American flag on the world's largest flagpole, with plans to have it stand taller than the Empire State Building.

"You can't do this, I don't think, anywhere else in the world but right here,” Flagpole of Freedom Founder Morrill Worcester said. “We owe it to the people that gave us the opportunity to have the freedom to do what we do, and that's the military, so that's why we do it."
Those behind it say the park would generate about 8,000 year-round jobs and $27 million in tax revenue each year.
Building it will be a tall order. In addition to any environmental and technical concerns, they still need to raise about $1 billion to make it happen.
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www.flagpoleoffreedom.com

Make History with Flagpole of Freedom

Flagpole of Freedom Park is an initiative of historic scale and scope, whose core goal is to help build unity and pride for America.
www.flagpoleoffreedom.com www.flagpoleoffreedom.com
fox40.com

Family set to create world’s tallest flagpole to honor veterans, fallen soldiers

One family is making it their mission to create the world’s tallest flagpole to honor veterans and fallen soldiers.
fox40.com fox40.com
www.mainechamber.org

Flagpole of Freedom Park: A 250th Birthday Present to America

Imagine a place that will build unity and pride for our country. A place that is part national monument, part historical adventure, part immersive tech-driven museum, part architectural wonder. A...
www.mainechamber.org www.mainechamber.org


Plans unveiled to bring World's Tallest Flagpole to Maine
World's Tallest Flagpole Proposed For Maine; Billion-Dollar Project Would Honor American Veterans - CBS Boston

Field of dreams? World's tallest flagpole could bring thousands of jobs to Downeast | Mainebiz.biz
 
"Look how big this flag is! Everyone knows that the bigger the flag, the more freedom-ier it is!"

An ugly and meaningless vanity project that's half tacky tourist trap and half dick-waving contest.

If the man behind this project really wants to "honor veterans" He could put the money from this nonsense into building housing for homeless or housing-insecure veterans...of which there are several thousand in Maine.... A billion dollars could build a lot of housing and healthcare facilities for vets.
 
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Cosakita18 said:
"Look how big this flag is! Everyone knows that the bigger the flag, the more freedom-ier it is!"

An ugly and meaningless vanity project that's half tacky tourist trap and half dick-waving contest.

If the man behind this project really wants to "honor veterans" He could put the money from this nonsense into building housing for homeless or housing-insecure veterans...of which there are several thousand in Maine.... A billion dollars could build a lot of housing and healthcare facilities for vets.
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I agree with every word you said.

But it does look pretty cool, too.
 
Aesthetically speaking, the height of the pole given the diameter and flag size make the whole thing look cartoonish. The pole would have to have be at least 1/3 higher to make that diameter work, then the flag would be too small.

I have to repost my favorite quote from the other thread on this - from the MaineBiz article:

“That’s a big pole,” said the park project's leader, Morrill Worcester, at the launch announcement. "We started out thinking it would be 200 feet, but that was 13 years ago."
 
Cosakita18 said:
"Look how big this flag is! Everyone knows that the bigger the flag, the more freedom-ier it is!"

An ugly and meaningless vanity project that's half tacky tourist trap and half dick-waving contest.

If the man behind this project really wants to "honor veterans" He could put the money from this nonsense into building housing for homeless or housing-insecure veterans...of which there are several thousand in Maine.... A billion dollars could build a lot of housing and healthcare facilities for vets.
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yeah, what is this pole going to do for veteran suicide rate?
 
"You can't do this, I don't think, anywhere else in the world but right here,” Seriously? Why not? It can literally be done anywhere that stupidly allows it. Let them build it in Texas. As noted above it's a little too Nationalistic for my taste as well.
 
As a retired U.S. Army combat veteran, I totally agree with you guys here. It's just too far fetched of an idea! I too think that housing the homeless/low income veterans as part of a much bigger housing development is a much better use of their money. I just don't see how the boondocks out there in eastern Maine could support that, let alone the environmental huddles it would face from the NIMBYs. This would look better next to Foxboro stadium with the top shaped like a football (with views of Beantown and Providence) or the whole thing looking like a Lombardi trophy.

Southern Maine Veterans Cemetery, Springvale, Maine on Memorial Day.
20220530_134054.jpg
 
MartinS said:
As a retired U.S. Army combat veteran, I totally agree with you guys here. It's just too far fetched of an idea! I too think that housing the homeless/low income veterans as part of a much bigger housing development is a much better use of their money. I just don't see how the boondocks out there in eastern Maine could support that, let alone the environmental huddles it would face from the NIMBYs. This would look better next to Foxboro stadium with the top shaped like a football (with views of Beantown and Providence) or the whole thing looking like a Lombardi trophy.

Southern Maine Veterans Cemetery, Springvale, Maine on Memorial Day.
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I would trade this for a homeless vet tiny house village with a nice flagpole on the development
 
I think it’s a terrible idea in the first place. I know my opinion doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things but why not do something meaningful? Build housing for veterans, disabled veterans, anyone who served, anyone in need of housing! (Which is a lot). A giant flag pole isn’t helping anyone.
 
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NR2Portland said:
I think it’s a terrible idea in the first place. I know my opinion doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things but why not do something meaningful? Build housing for veterans, disabled veterans, anyone who served, anyone in need of housing! (Which is a lot). A giant flag pole isn’t helping anyone.
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I think that's the general consensus. The money used to build this would be better spent to help veterans in many more ways, but this is essentially an "I'm more patriotic than you" vanity project by Worcester.
 
"General Consensus" that this is a bad idea???

Guess what, this is a Totally Private Investment, on Private Land that this guy has decided to share with others.

If someone wants to come up with millions of dollars to do what they want with their own money, then do it.

If there is "public" money being spent on this, for example, making responsible taxpayers pay off loans in an attempt to buy votes, then yeah, there is a problem.
But if this guy has a vision that doesn't perfectly align with what someone thinks he should do with his own money (and voluntary donations), then too bad.
 
um1990 said:
"General Consensus" that this is a bad idea???

Guess what, this is a Totally Private Investment, on Private Land that this guy has decided to share with others.

If someone wants to come up with millions of dollars to do what they want with their own money, then do it.

If there is "public" money being spent on this, for example, making responsible taxpayers pay off loans in an attempt to buy votes, then yeah, there is a problem.
But if this guy has a vision that doesn't perfectly align with what someone thinks he should do with his own money (and voluntary donations), then too bad.
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Yes, general consensus is that it's a bad idea, and that the money could be better spent on something that would actually help veterans if that were his true goal. Doesn't mean he isn't free to do what he wants. Pretty simple.
 
um1990 said:
"General Consensus" that this is a bad idea???

Guess what, this is a Totally Private Investment, on Private Land that this guy has decided to share with others.

If someone wants to come up with millions of dollars to do what they want with their own money, then do it.

If there is "public" money being spent on this, for example, making responsible taxpayers pay off loans in an attempt to buy votes, then yeah, there is a problem.
But if this guy has a vision that doesn't perfectly align with what someone thinks he should do with his own money (and voluntary donations), then too bad.
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Sure. But compliance with laws, zoning, and oversight is still required.

However, it still remains a flaccid overcompensation and is grossly nationalistic.

I'm surprised it's not being built a Mar-a-Lago.
 
In the end ... if this is ever built, the proposed size and scale will likely not match reality.

Enjoy my crappy clip art.

Proposed:

1661970827869.jpeg


Reality:

1661970860873.png
 
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The total cost quoted in the MaineBiz article in the other thread on this is $1 Billion - and I'm sure that number has risen since the article was published. Yes they are currently trying to raise money through individual and corporate donations - and I'm by no means an expert in this - but that seems to be a colossal number to raise without looking for any help at all from local, state, federal government/agencies.
 
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