Air Raid Sirens of Bangor - McGuire Building (?)

On a not-so-warm spring evening, I was accompanying a friend in downtown Bangor as they dropped coffee off to their spouse. As the car idled in the parking lot of Bangor's very own Mos Eisley, he nodded behind us and asked what "that thing" was in the rear view mirror, on top of the historic McGuire building.

The McGuire Building in 1942

-Courtesy Maine Memory Network and the Bangor Public Library

Knowing that he knows I'm into odd historical things, I got out of the car and looked at what he was pointing out. 

Let's examine this a little more closely:

This object is either: 

• A gigantic "Smoker's Cease Fire" bucket.
• A bad reproduction of a middle-eastern style minaret in a dying timber/wartown in the whitest state in the nation. 
• An obese neckbeard in the world's shittiest Punisher costume. 
• A Rosie O'Donnell inspired cupola. 
• An air raid siren. 

If you've read any of this blog before,  you should know that I'm not terribly interested in giant cigarette buckets, white people's minarets, a neckbeard dressed like the Punisher, or a Rosie O'Donnell inspired cupola.

I'm pretty sure what I'm looking at is an air raid siren from back when they needed to paint the Thomas Hill Standpipe olive drab; also pretty sure that this is an air raid siren because of the shape/scale. However...the flared out bottom does indeed sow seeds of doubt. Could this just be a cupola?

I'd love to find out whether or not this is indeed an air raid siren. I'll try to update this post when I get access to binoculars, telescope...x-ray specs...something.

-T