You’ve seen Brad Apple’s American flag before.
The massive 40-by-80-foot Stars and Stripes sits atop a towering 155-foot pole just off Sixth Avenue in an industrial park where Apple’s business, Time Plumbing, Heating & Electric Denver, is located.
“We bought this building and wanted to have something up to let people know we are here, so I approached Denver to see if we could put a 50-foot flagpole up, and they said there’s no limit on how high, how tall your flagpole is. And at that time, there was a 140-foot one in Colorado, so I thought, well, we’ll put up a 155-foot one,” Apple said.
But recently, drivers cruising along the busy highway have noticed something odd – the big flag is gone.
Whenever he can, the plumber will put up the biggest flag he has, which costs him $9,400 to buy, and is made in the U.S. But it’s gotten expensive. When he started 11 years ago, the giant flag cost just $2,800.
So sometimes, in place of the biggest flag, Apple will fly a 30-by-60-foot one that costs $4,500. He also has a couple other smaller, more affordable options.
“The last three or four years, we’ve just cut back on putting up bigger flags so that we can keep our costs down to customers out in the field,” he said.
Another reason is Colorado’s weather, which regularly features hail and high winds. These conditions tear up the flags, especially larger ones, which can be repaired by specialty shops only once or twice before becoming unusable.
He first hoisted the flag on Memorial Day in 2015, in a ceremony that included active service members from all military branches.
Apple purchased the building at 2525 W. Sixth Ave. in August 2013 for $1.1 million, after his previous location along Interstate 25 in Baker was razed to widen the highway.
At his previous spot, he had a giant LED sign for his business. The $120,000 apparatus would put up trivia questions on Tuesdays. Before that, his business was situated on the corner of Sixth and Broadway. That building was adorned with a sign containing 15,000 light bulbs.
Apple has a side business called Apple Blossom Signs.
“I’ve been installing signs and dealt with a lot of stuff. I love challenges,” he said.
But no challenge was quite like the one to put up the flagpole along Sixth Avenue.
First, he bore a 20-foot-deep hole to create a base for the pole. Then, he filled it with cement and sand to hold it all in place. A 150-ton crane lowered the pole into place. The whole operation cost about $63,000, he said.
Part of the inspiration for the flag was his father, a World War II veteran who served as a turret gunner in an American warplane in the Pacific. Apple, 67, was born and raised in Denver. He met his wife in a jewelry class while attending South High School.
“We had probably 800 people here for the flag raising. … We had the Colorado kids choir here. We had a live eagle on-site from a bird reserve. There was a guy from World War II that showed up,” he said.
The plumber does more than just raise the Stars and Stripes. He has also put a light-up Christmas tree atop the pole for the past five years. The Guinness World Records told him it is the second-tallest Christmas tree on a flagpole in the world, trailing only one in Europe.
“The apparatus and the lights weigh about almost 800 pounds, so we could not crank it up with a hand crank,” he said.
Ever the problem solver, Apple found a battery-powered winch tool in Australia that would suit his needs. He had to trim down the edges and build a custom rack to place it inside the flagpole.
“I’ve always loved challenges. That’s why I enjoy what I do in this business, whether it’s people, vehicles on the road, challenges in the field. I love getting creative and solving problems.”
