That Giant Arrow that can be seen by Satellites

Arrow # 37 from space

Location

Looking for St. Paul? Look for the giant concrete arrow in Cottage Grove

Excerpt:

It was part of an elaborate navigation system built coast-to-coast early in the 20th century to help pilots deliver mail for the U.S. Post Office.

In the days before radar and GPS, pilots flying the air-mail route to the Twin Cities knew to look for the shining rotating beacon and the 70-foot-long bright-yellow directional arrow in Cottage Grove.

“It points northeast,” Jansen said. “That way they knew which way to go to get to Holman Field (in St. Paul). They used to keep it brightly painted, so it was easy to see. There were some big numbers painted on it, like, 3-7-9. The numbers were probably about 3-feet high; they meant something to the pilots, apparently.”

Jansen believes the arrow was installed in 1930, two years after his father, Ben, bought the 240-acre farm.

“They wanted to put it out in the field across the road (90th Street), and my dad says: ‘Why would you want to put it out in the field? You put it right behind the house,’ ” Jansen said. “It turned out to be a good thing because if it was out in the middle of a field, it would have been in our way, and we would have done away with it years ago. But behind the house, it never bothered us, so it’s just there.”

...Jansen’s arrow was known as No. 37 on the Milwaukee to St. Paul-Minneapolis route, indicating the site was 370 miles from the beginning of the route, Hawkins said. It’s believed to be the only arrow remaining in Minnesota.

Comment: List with links to other Giant Arrows

There's an arrow that no satellite can see but which the tender heart may.