Overgrown ‘tree’ makes a mark on Mexico Road

The tree that towers over resident onlookers and curious drivers at Mexico Road and Sonderen Street is in fact a cell phone tower that was built around nine weeks ago.

The tower stands 120 feet tall in O'Fallon resident John Aholt's backyard. Its fake green branches and long brown trunk have become a popular topic of conversation.

Aholt was not able to be reached for comment, but employees at neighboring businesses talked to O'Fallon Patch about the unordinary "tree."

"It's kind of a landmark," said Bobby Balchus, owner of Christian Brothers Automotive.
"People stop and take pictures and think it's a real tree." Balchus's business is located just down the street from the massive tower.

St. Charles Tower Inc. helped to construct the project. According to Tom Drabelle, director of public relations for the, the developer chose the location of the cell phone tower and worked with the O'Fallon City Council to finalize the details.

The cell phone tower doesn't bother photographer Laura Boyd. As an employee of Trotter Photo, located across the street from the tower, business continues as usual with the occasional remarks from customers. "It doesn't bother [our business]. If it looked like a normal tower, people wouldn't care as much," Boyd said. "Customers come in and comment on it."

While out of the ordinary, this type of structure is not the first of its kind for the city of O'Fallon. On Mexico and Highway K a tower that resembles a flagpole is located near the QuikTrip, a few blocks away from Aholt's backyard.