In 1917, a steel tower 22 feet high replaced the log tower. In 1933, the steel tower was raised 33 feet so observers could see over the surrounding trees (one must assume that Verplanck Colvin and his men cleared the summit of most, if not all, trees in 1872 for triangulation sightings to distant peaks during the Adirondack Survey). In 1971, the Snowy Mountain fire tower was closed when NYS decided that it was unnecessary for protecting the Adirondack Park from forest fires (airplanes could do the job equally well).[4] Several years later (it was there in 1986, but gone in 2006), the observer's cabin was removed.