Chicago Water Tower

The Chicago Water Tower is a Chicago and American historical place tower that is 154 feet (47 m) tall. The tower is believed to be the only tower to survive the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. It is the only public tower to be in the fire zone to survive.A.T. Andreas (1885), History of Chicago, Vol. 2, pp. 752 (picture of E.B. McCagg's Greenhouse), 759 (discussing survival of the Lind Block and 2 houses), Chicago: A.T. Andreas Co.Cf. The Couch Tomb.  The building is the symbol of Old Chicago. The tower was built in 1869. The building became a National Historic Landmark in 1975.

Location

The tower is located at 806 Michigan Avenue along the Magnificent Mile shopping district in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois in a small park, the Jane M. Byrne Plaza.

Structure  

The tower was built to keep a large water pump, to draw water from Lake Michigan. It was built in 1869. It is the second-oldest water tower in the United States, after the Louisville Water Tower in Louisville, Kentucky. The design of the tower has not been liked by everyone.

Oscar Wilde said that the tower looked like "a castellated monstrosity with pepper boxes stuck all over it," although he did admire the arrangement and movement of the pumping machinery inside. The Water Tower's castle-like style inspired the design of some White Castle restaurant buildings.

Status

Today, the Chicago Water Tower is the Chicago Office of Tourism as a small art gallery known as the City Gallery in the Historic Water Tower. It has the work of local photographers, artists and filmmakers.

References

Category:History of Chicago
Category:Landmarks in Chicago
Category:1860s establishments in Illinois
Category:Buildings and structures in Chicago
Category:1869 establishments in the United States