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Through print and digital publications, SAH documents the history of the built environment and disseminates scholarshipLatest Issue:
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About
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SAH promotes the study, interpretation, and conservation of the built environment worldwide for the benefit of all
SAHARA Highlights: Water Towers
Apr 28, 2025
by
By SAHARA Co-Editors Jacqueline Spafford and Jeannine Keefer, and Associate Editor Meral Ekincioglu
Water towers are important components in water systems. They provide potable water, irrigation, water for industry, and/or fire protection. They take on many forms: some are decorative; some are integrated into the design of a complex; and some are strictly functional, making use of materials at hand. But, no matter the age, the material, or the design, there are two common elements: height for hydrostatic pressure (no need for electricity) and a water tank for storage. The following is a small sample of water towers from around the globe.
1. Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, Polyspheroid Water Tank, Carbondale, IL, 1965. Photograph by G. E. Kidder Smith.
2. Wasserturm (Water Tower), Lucerne, Switzerland, 13th century. Photograph by William Kessler.
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3. Koligan farm house and water tank, Fresno, CA, 1912. Photograph by Jeffrey E. Klee, 2008.
4. Saint Joe Minerals Corporation’s Federal Mine Mill No. 3, Park Hills, MO, 1906. Photograph by Patrick Malone, ca. 2001.
5. William LeBaron Jenny, Riverside [Water Tower], Riverside, IL, designed 1869. Photograph by Dianne Harris. The Water Tower is now part of the Riverside Historical Museum and Water Tower. Riverside was laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calver Vaux.
6. Water Tank, Glen Ellen, CA, ca 1910. Photograph by Dell Upton, 1986. A former winery, the property was purchased and restored by Jack London in 1911. He lived there until his death in 1916.
7. Eero Saarinen & Associates; Smith, Hinchman & Grylls Associates; and Thomas Dolliver Church, General Motors Technical Center, Warren, MI, 1951-1956. Photograph by G. E. Kidder Smith.
8. Ottoman water cistern at Auja el Hafir railway station, Auja el Hafir/Nitzana, Israel, 1900s. Photograph by Maggie Freeman, 2023.
9. Chicago Bridge & Iron Works Company, Port Henry Light, Heat & Power Company Water Tower, Port Henry, NY, 1916. Photograph by Richard Longstreth.
10. Lauwerhof Water Tower, Utrecht, Netherlands, 1895. Photograph by Dell Upton, 2017.
11. Mabwe Pande Water Tower, Mabwe Pande, Tanzania, 1960s or 1970s. Photograph by Michele Tenzon, 2024.
12. Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, Water Tower, Clanton, AL, 1992. Photograph by Dell Upton, 2006.
