Flint residents worried about fate of historic weather ball
FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) - The Huntington Bank building in Flint is now on the market, and with it, the iconic weather ball that sits on top.
Residents are worried about what might happen to its very visible piece of history.
Huntington is selling the building and moving many of its “colleagues” to a nearby building, and residents are saying they hope whoever buys it keeps the distinctive landmark in operation.
“It’s a landmark here,” Flint resident Jawann said.
“It’s a part of the Flint city skyline. It’s one of the few things we have left so, they must keep the weather ball,” Flint resident Kyle Lawrence said.
A piece of Flint’s history and culture, the 5,000-pound weather ball, has been atop the downtown headquarters of Huntington National Bank for more than 66 years.
The 10-story office tower and its weather ball are now for sale.
“I do like it; I do look to it every day,” Lawrence said. “I have friends who live out of town that’ll ask for a picture of it, so it is important to the local scene, culture here. So, it is very significant to the city of Flint.”
The iconic ball has served as a weather forecaster for residents, blinking and changing colors depending on conditions. Last year, for the first time, it even went pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Residents said the city wouldn’t be the same without it.
“I think I’d be pretty devastated. Every time we drive downtown, we always pretty much know what the weather the next day is going to be whether it’s red, green, yellow, whatever,” Jawann said.
Huntington said they will maintain their branch inside the building and that they will ensure the weather ball stays as a condition of any sale.
The price tag for the building is $3.5 million.
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