Miami Is Auctioning Off the Ultimate Beach Souvenir: A Pair of Its Iconic Lifeguard Towers
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The iconic red and yellow towers are being auctioned separately, with a current price tag of $500 and $2,576.
These towers have been painted to reflect the Super Bowl, which was played in the city. One sports the Kansas City Chiefs logo, while the other is painted with the San Francisco 49ers label. They were both displayed on the beach prior to the game.
Miami Beach told the network that similar towers have fetched as much as $3,050 in the past.
But there’s a small catch: Anyone who buys these admittedly large souvenirs will have to transport their prize themselves.
“It's a great way to give them a new life," Melissa Berthier, assistant director of Miami Beach's marketing department, told CNN. "People have used them as tiki bars at home or it makes a great treehouse for kids."
Berthier suggested the buyers hire a contractor to transport them.
"Whether it's a visitor or a local, we hope they go to a good home," she added.
In 2018, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that the city auctioned off six towers, which dated back to the 1980s after 40 people made a bid.
“The lifeguard towers are historic and meaningful to our family. They have survived each major hurricane since Andrew and are a staple,’’ Freddy Seikaly, who paid $2,050 for a tower in 2018, told the paper. “We grew up going to the beach every weekend and thought it would be cool to have a piece of Miami Beach history in our backyard.”