Wind Up In Traer - The Story

A lot of Iowa communities have some pretty unique tourism slogans but none of them rises to the occasion quite like "Wind Up In Traer" which I refer to in today's Ramblin' column in The Gazette. The slogan is based on the outdoor metal spiral staircase you'll find in the heart of the business district. (If you want to read a comprehensive report on it, click here.)

The stairway was installed in 1894 after fire destroyed the office of the Star-Clipper newspaper when owner E.E. Taylor decided to replace the building with a two-story structure. Problem was, the narrow lot (only 18 feet wide) meant space was at a premium. So, he had the spiral staircase built by Burlington Iron Works and installed out front, leaving more space in the building for two street-level stores and the newspaper office on the second floor. The iron stairway weighs 2,000 pounds and its 23 steps take you on 1 1/2 revolutions.

A couple of times the stairway was nearly torn down. But, in 1916, it was simply moved further away from the building and connected by a catwalk so people could walk freely below it. And, in the 1970s, after it was hit by a snowplow, the stairway was rebuilt.

The stairway gained world-wide fame in 1966 when a story about it appeared in the "Stars and Stripes" Pacific Edition and in the Chicago Tribune. That second story was distributed on the Associated Press wires, solidifying Traer's unique feature in the minds of many tourists who continue to "wind up in Traer" today to see and walk the unusual outdoor stairway.