After more than a couple of rebirths, Eagan’s Sperry Tower is lighting up the skyline once again.

The tower, which the city affectionately calls an “oversized nightlight,” was first built in 2016, but a lightning strike in the spring of 2023 left it dark until Feb. 13, when the bulbs — over 5,000 of them — were turned back on.

In its first life, Sperry Tower rose to fame as the city’s first water tower. Built in 1967, the water tower, which was nicknamed for its proximity to the facility for Unisys, formerly Sperry/Univac, held up to 500,000 gallons of water before it was taken offline in 2009.

For the following five years, the empty water tower structure remained as cellphone service providers paid to have their wireless antennas mounted on top of it, bringing in about $150,000 for the city at the time.

The structure we now know as Sperry Tower was built nearly 10 years ago for $1.7 million to serve as a “stealth” communications tower that hides phone carrier and 911 technology for radio communications with emergency crews.

Located at 1401 Towerview Road, the tower stands 198 feet tall and is illuminated by 5,448 LED light bulbs on 185 fixtures across its six rings. The cost to operate the tower? About $2.30 a day.

“The tower lighting has nearly limitless capabilities including an indefinite range of colors,” according to the city.

A few of this month’s hues include purple, green and white on Saturday for International Women’s Day, green for St. Patrick’s day of course and blue and yellow at the end of the month for Eid al-Fitr.

Lighting requests can also be submitted by the public for consideration.

Other approved requests for this year: April 28 the tower will be lit up burgundy for Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week, May 2 the tower will glow orange for Ehlers-Danlos Awareness Month, June 25 the tower will be purple for World Vitiligo Day and Nov. 3 it will glow teal for Alzheimer’s Awareness.

“Once a water tower, now an important part of our telecommunication system, it’s still a symbol of our community,” the city said in a news release. “Look up and enjoy the glow!”