Washburn Park Water Tower

Washburn Park Water Tower

Infobox_nrhp | name =Washburn Park Water Tower
nrhp_type =


caption =The Washburn Park Water Tower is one of 3 stone water towers built in Minneapolis during the early 20th-Century. The others are Kenwood Park Water Tower, just west of downtown, and Prospect Park Water Tower, in southeast Minneapolis.
location= Minneapolis, Minnesota
lat_degrees = 44 | lat_minutes = 54 | lat_seconds = 38.76 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 93 | long_minutes = 17 | long_seconds = 2.45 | long_direction = W
architect = Harry W. Jones
area =
built =1931
architect= Harry Wild Jones
added = October 06, 1983
governing_body = Local
refnum=83003663 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2006-03-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

The Washburn Park Water Tower poses as a landmark of early 20th-Century architectural achievement within the neighborhood known as 'Tangletown' in south Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has been doing so for nearly 75 years. Perched on top of one of the highest points in south Minneapolis, the tower is given the privilege to boast its unique location and role as an unofficial "beacon" for incoming planes landing at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, yet remains hidden from much of the residents and visitors that pass by the base of the hill each day. This is mainly because large homes and tall oak trees scatter the hillside where the tower resides, and even more so, because of the clustered mess of streets and dead ends that compromise the towers' occupancy. Hence the name, 'Tangletown'.

Early History

As John Olson, president of OLSON, a Minneapolis based advertising and PR agency with an office in San Francisco, put it, "It's as good a landmark and touchstone -- and so, maybe, headstone -- as a body can expect from his hometown." I'm wondering if that's also what Harry Wild Jones had in mind in 1932 when he first put this masterpiece onto paper. Jones, a well-known Minneapolis architect who also designed Butler Square and Lakewood Cemetery Chapel (both of which are in Minneapolis), was well ahead of his time in creating the structurally-sound Washburn Park Water Tower. Along with William S. Hewett (an engineer from the Interlachen Bridge project), the two men not only implemented modern hydro-engineering methods to the tower's design, but also its very own unique character. The story goes that as Jones was clearing underbrush at his home nearby, which was also in its construction phase, a giant eagle (with nearly an 8 foot wingspan) had attacked him. He had the eagle maimed, captured, and brought to town where it began attracting much attention. In part, he used the eagle's extraordinary dimensions (and the artistic skills of John K. Daniels) to cast eight concrete look-alikes, that now sit atop the tower to watch over their former domain. In addition, eight 18 foot tall "Guardians of Health" were placed around the tower (one under each eagle), to prevent any bad-tasting or bad-smelling water pollutants from contaminating the water supply, which were believed to be the cause of many typhoid fever outbreaks around that time.

On October 6, 1983, the water tower was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for the city of Minneapolis. The water tower's record number is #24362.

References

*cite web|last=Thomas|first=Katherine|title="Historic Watertowers"|date=July 1990|work=Explorer Rag|url=http://www.geocities.com/marmotamonax/Xrag/XRagWatertowers.html|accessdate=2007-01-31

*cite web|last=Olson|first=John|title="John Olson: This tower is a reservoir of our common stories"|date=January 21, 2005|work=Washburn High School (MN) Homepage|url=http://washburn.mpls.k12.mn.us/7Feb20052.html|accessdate=2007-01-31

*cite web|last=Archiplanet.org|title="Washburn Park Water Tower Location"|url=http://www.archiplanet.org/wiki/Washburn_Park_Water_Tower|accessdate=2007-02-06

*cite web|last=Emporis.com|title="Washburn Park Water Tower Information"|url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=washburnparkwatertower-minneapolis-mn-usa
accessdate=2007-02-06


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kenwood Park Water Tower — Infobox Historic building name=Kenwood Park Water Tower caption=The Kenwood Park Water Tower is one of 3 stone water towers built in Minneapolis during the early 20th Century. The others are Washburn Park Water Tower, in Tangletown , and Prospect …   Wikipedia

  • Tower Hill State Park — Geobox|Protected area name = Tower Hill State Park category = Wisconsin State Park category iucn = V image caption = country = United States country state = Wisconsin state state type = State region type = County region = Iowa city type = City… …   Wikipedia

  • Washburn "A" Mill — Infobox nrhp | name =Washburn A Mill Complex nrhp type =nhl caption =The Washburn A Mill complex in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The blue structure jutting out beyond the grain elevators is the skybridge from the new Guthrie Theater. The two buildings …   Wikipedia

  • Washburn-Fair Oaks Mansion District — Infobox nrhp | name =Washburn Fair Oaks Mansion District nrhp type =hd caption = location= Minneapolis, MN area = architect= Whitney, William Channing; Et al. architecture= Classical Revival, Renaissance, Other added = February 17, 1978 governing …   Wikipedia

  • Yellowstone National Park — Yellowstone redirects here. For other uses, see Yellowstone (disambiguation). Yellowstone National Park Grand Canyon of Yellowstone Location …   Wikipedia

  • Charles A. Lindbergh State Park — Charles A. Lindbergh House and Park U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. National Historic Landmark …   Wikipedia

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Hennepin County, Minnesota — Hennepin County, Minnesota contains 142 properties and historic districts that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A significant number of National Register properties in Hennepin County are a result of the establishment of… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Denkmäler im National Register of Historic Places im Hennepin County — Die Liste der Einträge im Hennepin County umfasst rund 140 in das National Register of Historic Places eingetragenen Denkmäler und Ensembles, die sich im Hennepin County befinden. Ein Großteil davon resultiert aus der Gründung von Fort Snelling,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Harry Wild Jones — (June 9, 1859 – September 25, 1935) was a popular Minneapolis, Minnesota based architect who designed throughout the country and the world. Born two years before the start of the Civil War, Jones, a twelfth generation New Englander, took his… …   Wikipedia

  • Millennium Park — For other uses, see Millennium Park (disambiguation). Millennium Park Millennium Park as seen from the north in 2005 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”