When and What:  Postmarked 1909 ... A diving tower near Excelsior. These were once very common at beaches. Of course they were often 4 stories high so a fall could easily kill you out right, but then you would probably drown anyway. They rocked in the wind and the wet wood was always extremely slippery, so lawyers loved them. Unfortunately too many people over estimating their skill, climbed to the top. As a result you'll maybe never see one again except in pictures like these. I jumped and dove hundreds of times off of this type of tower when I was as young as 10 years old. One day when I was alone on the platform I embarked on the frightening climb up the ladder to the top just to see what things looked like from up there. Before I got back down several 'big kids' had arrived. The bigger kids had a rule that once anyone climbed to the top there was only one way down, and the ladder wasn't it. You didn't need to worry about the dive killing you because THEY would kill you if you didn't go. I went backwards under extreme protest (pushed). I was a good enough diver to realize I needed to curl up into a ball rather than land flat on my back. WOW! was that fun! After that I couldn't be kept off any tower I got near. As diving towers disapeared (most long before my time) an increasing number of bridge diving injuries started to appear including those involving the famous "NARROWS" bridge. I knew many people who would dive off bridges and of a few who were seriously injured by what they discovered below the surface. When you dive from a bridge you can't always see everything beneath the surface. With a tower, at least you knew the water below was safe.