All the more so when said memories are sparse and fading, and involve an ageing and neglected Canberra landmark.

Young Canberran Samantha Hoyles has happy but distant memories of visiting Telstra Tower, enjoying the panoramic views with an ice cream.

In a letter to the editor, published last week, she begged Telstra to reopen the tower, so she and her family could return and keep the memories going.

And she's not alone. Generations of Canberrans would have similar sentiments, having climbed the hill, taken the lift up the viewing platform, shown visitors to the view and perhaps even dined at what was once a top-notch revolving restaurant.

Many would know it as Black Mountain Tower, or even Telecom Tower. It's old enough now to have had more than one official name, while still remaining a quaint, distinctive and, above all, comforting landmark.

And most of us have been waiting for news of the tower's fate for years now.

Telstra announced its indefinite closure in December 2021, while it worked out how it could be made viable for visitors again.

Earlier in the year, the telco had announced what was meant to be a temporary closure to the public areas while essential repair work was done.

Not much has happened since then, although Samantha putting pen to paper should remind us words can help. An opinion on a community Facebook page bemoaning the state of the tower came to the attention of Telstra after attracting hundreds of comments.

"For something that was once in our top three tourist attractions, it is kind of embarrassing to watch tourists step out of their cars briefly and express disgust at the sights and smells that confront them," Josip Sladic said.

"This can't be good for future tourism revenue."

This, and the ensuing discussion, led Telstra to remove damaged signage and clean up some graffiti.

But the telco giant has not indicated there is any urgency whatsoever when it comes to decisions.

It's a given no matter what is decided, it will be an expensive undertaking.

Removing the tower altogether would be an unacceptable outcome, even though this result would have its supporters.

Readers have been reminded over the years of the controversy that led to the commissioning of the tower in 1970, and its unveiling 10 years later.

There has long been a movement to have the tower removed on environmental grounds, and have the mountain restored the landmark it was intended to be in the original Griffin plans.

The tower has shifted in and out of favour in the past 40-odd years, but has persisted as a symbol on Canberra's already distinctive skyline.

For newcomers or outsiders, a landmark dating back to 1980 should hardly be a cause for heartache, but this is Canberra, still barely a young adult in terms of age and maturity.

Three generations have enjoyed the views, and generations more should have similar experiences.

The tower is no longer fit for its intended purpose, but this has never been reason enough to remove a structure altogether.

Telstra has tough decisions to make; no one is denying this.

But as the owner of such an iconic structure, it has a responsibility to Canberra's heritage and to its people.