The 90-year history of the binoculars bolted to scenic overlooks

Tower Optical, a Connecticut-based company founded in 1933, has manufactured approximately 2,000 coin-operated binocular viewers that have been installed at scenic overlooks across North America since the 1930s, with about 1,800 still deployed at roughly 400 locations today. For the first time in its 90-year history, the family-owned company is selling some of these iconic chrome-plated machines to private buyers, complete with detailed historical records tracking each viewer's maintenance and deployment over decades.