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Historic Water Tower |
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The Historic Water Tower, which stands at Michigan and Chicago avenues, was erected in 1869 to house a 138-foot-tall standpipe, three feet in diameter.
This standpipe served to equalize pressure and to minimize the pulsations of the water flowing in the mains. The tower was constructed of Joliet limestone blocks quarried in Illinois, a foresight which proved invaluable two years after the completion of construction when, on the morning of October 9, 1871, flames engulfed Chicago and leveled nearly every building except for the Water Tower.
On the day following the fire, the Water Tower served as a guidepost by which citizens hunted through the ruins for what had once been their homes. It became a monument to the efforts of Chicago's water works engineers; it became and has remained a symbol of Chicago's indomitable "I Will" spirit.
The tower is constructed in the castellated gothic style. Its saw-toothed towers were designed by Boyington to recapture the romance of a medieval castle, the kind from which archers and crossbow men defended themselves. While its octagonal form incorporates Gothic architectural elements, its slender tower, crowned by wide windows and a balcony, has a minaret quality.
The foundation of the Water Tower consists of 168 piles filled with concrete and capped with 12-inch oak timbers. Massive stones laid in cement complete the base up to six feet below the grade. The tower rises in five sections from the square ground-level base with battlement pillars at each of its four corners. Each of the 40-foot-wide sides has a stately doorway and two grand windows. The second and third sections are similar in design as they rise in diminishing size. The octagonal tower is centered and set back from the top of the third section. It rises 154 feet above the ground level. The standpipe was removed in 1911 when it was no longer needed. The spiral staircase which encircled the standpipe, however, is still intact and is used to reach the tower cupola.
The municipally owned Water Works was built and placed into operation in 1854. When the water tower was completed in 1869, it was supplied with water by a tunnel system which extended two miles out into Lake Michigan. The first of the Chicago water tunnels, which was completed in 1867, attracted world-wide interest as an engineering feat.
In 1969, the year of its centennial anniversary, the water tower was nationally recognized as the First American Water Landmark, and in 1972, the Chicago Landmarks commission designated the Historic Water Tower and the Chicago Avenue Pumping Station as city landmarks.
Today, the Historic Water Tower is the home of City Gallery, the city's official photography gallery, and the Pumping Station has been transformed into a Visitor Welcome Center where the public can not only gather literature about the city's myriad of attractions, but also observe the Chicago WaterWorks at work.