North Point Water Tower

Last updated
North Point Water Tower
North-point-water-tower-0905.jpg
North Point Water Tower
LocationEast North Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates 43°03′35″N87°52′48″W / 43.05971°N 87.87987°W / 43.05971; -87.87987 Coordinates: 43°03′35″N87°52′48″W / 43.05971°N 87.87987°W / 43.05971; -87.87987
ArchitectCharles A. Gombert
Architectural style Victorian Gothic
NRHP reference No. 73000088
Added to NRHPFebruary 23, 1973

The North Point Water Tower was built in 1873 and 1874 as part of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's first public waterworks, with Victorian Gothic styling unusually handsome for a water tower. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The City of Milwaukee was authorized by the Wisconsin Legislature to construct the water tower in 1871. [3] Designed by Charles A. Gombert, it was built out of limestone from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin to house the wrought iron standpipe. [4]

The building cost more than $50,000 to complete, far exceeding the original $8,000 estimate.

A pumping station below the bluff drew water from Lake Michigan and pumped it onward into the municipal waterworks. [5] The pipe inside the tower—four feet across and 120 feet tall—served to buffer the rest of the waterworks from destructive pulsations from the massive pumps. The standpipe was surrounded by the stone tower to keep its water from freezing. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water tower</span> Elevated structure supporting a tank

A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conjunction with underground or surface service reservoirs, which store treated water close to where it will be used. Other types of water towers may only store raw (non-potable) water for fire protection or industrial purposes, and may not necessarily be connected to a public water supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Water Tower</span> United States historic place

The Chicago Water Tower is a contributing property and landmark in the Old Chicago Water Tower District in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built to enclose the tall machinery of a powerful water pump in 1869, it became particularly well known when it survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, although the area around it was burnt to the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Hill Standpipe</span> United States historic place

Thomas Hill Standpipe, which holds 1,750,000 US gallons (6,600,000 L) of water, is a riveted wrought iron tank with a wood frame jacket located on Thomas Hill in Bangor, Maine, United States. The metal tank is 50 feet (15 m) high and 75 feet (23 m) in diameter. Built in 1897, it is an architecturally distinctive city landmark, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

SS <i>Appomattox</i> Largest wooden steamship on the Great Lakes wrecked in 1905

The SS Appomattox was a wooden-hulled, American Great Lakes freighter that ran aground on Lake Michigan, off Atwater Beach off the coast of Shorewood, Wisconsin in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States in 1905. On January 20, 2005 the remnants of the Appomattox were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eden Park Stand Pipe</span> United States historic place

Eden Park Standpipe is an ornate historic standpipe standing on the high ground of Eden Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The standpipe is a form of water tower common in the late 19th century. It was listed in the National Register on March 3, 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Hill, St. Louis</span> Neighborhood of St. Louis in Missouri, United States

College Hill is a neighborhood of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. The name College Hill was given to this area because it was the location of the Saint Louis University College Farm. This area, bounded generally by Warne Ave., O'Fallon Park, I-70, Grand Boulevard, and W. Florissant Ave., was acquired by the University for garden and recreation purposes in 1836. It was subdivided in the early 1870s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellevue Standpipe</span> United States historic place

Bellevue Standpipe is a historic water storage tank on Bellevue Hill at Washington Street and West Roxbury Parkway in the Stony Brook Reservation of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1914, it is one of three early 20th-century water tanks built as part of Greater Boston's public water supply. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall River Waterworks</span> United States historic place

Fall River Waterworks is a 22-acre (8.9 ha) historic site located at the eastern end Bedford Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, along the shore of North Watuppa Pond. The property, which is still used as a water works for the city, contains the original pumping station, intake house and 121-foot (37 m) tall standpipe water tower. The system was originally built between 1872 and 1875, and expanded or upgraded many times. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Service Water Tower and Reservoir</span> United States historic place

The High Service Water Tower and Reservoir, colloquially known as the Tower Hill Tower, is a public water supply facility off Massachusetts Route 110 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The reservoir was constructed in 1874–75 to provide the city's public water supply, with a gatehouse designed by Charles T. Emerson, a Lawrence architect. The tower was built in 1896 as a high pressure standpipe or water tower. The tower stands 157 feet (48 m) high, and is built out of red brick with granite trim. It is Romanesque in its style, and was designed by George G. Adams, a noted local architect who had been taught by Emerson. The standpipe inside the tower is of steel construction and is 102 feet (31 m) in height. The area above the standpipe includes a balcony capped by a chateauesque roof, with round-arch windows providing views of the area. The main tower is octagonal in shape, with a narrow round staircase tower projection from one side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manistique Pumping Station</span> United States historic place

The Manistique Pumping Station is an industrial waterworks building located on Deer Street in Manistique, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Port Washington, Wisconsin)</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Its congregation is part of the parish of St. John XIII in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 for its architectural and religious significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is a historic church built in 1893 at the corner of 7th and Washington Streets in Walker's Point on the near South Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin - still very intact. The building was designated a city landmark in 1973 and added to the National Register of Historic Places the following year for its artistic and architectural significance.

The Benton Stone Water Tower is located in Benton, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belton Standpipe (Belton, South Carolina)</span> United States historic place

The Belton Standpipe, in Belton, South Carolina, historically known as the Belton Waterworks Tower, is a 155-foot high concrete water tower located near the downtown area. Construction on the tower began in 1908 and was completed in 1909. It is the tallest of three standpipe water towers in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe Water Tower</span> United States historic place

The Monroe Water Tower is a historic water tower built in 1889 in Monroe, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evansville Standpipe</span> United States historic place

The Evansville Standpipe is a historic water tower located in Evansville, Wisconsin. The 80-ft tall steel tower was built in 1901 by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, as part of the development of the local water supply system, spurred on by a devastating fire in 1896 that destroyed a large section of downtown Evansville. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Beloit Waterworks and Pump Station</span> United States historic place

The City of Beloit Waterworks and Pump Station was built in 1885 in Beloit, Wisconsin just below a hill on top of which sits the Beloit Water Tower. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Point Light</span> Lighthouse

The North Point Lighthouse Museum is a lighthouse built in 1888 in Lake Park on the East Side of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States to mark the entrance to the Milwaukee River. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It was also added to the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey as survey HABS WI-358.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neillsville Standpipe</span> United States historic place

The Neillsville Standpipe is located in Neillsville, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Waterworks</span> United States historic place

Madison Waterworks, also known as Nichols Station, is a historic building on East Gorham Street between North Franklin and North Hancock in Madison, Wisconsin. The building was built in 1917 as part of an effort to overhaul Madison's municipal water system; in addition to its new pumping station, the city also began supplying its water system from Lake Mendota rather than artesian wells. To maintain the city's water supply during construction, the new pumping station was built around the original. Architects Balch & Lippert designed the building in a functional interpretation of the Prairie School style with mock turrets, a parapet along the roof, and several gables. The city reused elements of the design in many of the later buildings it built for the water system. The building originally included two Allis-Chalmers steam pumping engines, one of which still remained when the station was decommissioned in 1976; according to the Historic American Engineering Record, it is a rare surviving example of a large steam pumping engine.

References

  1. "North Point Water Tower". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  2. "North Point Water Tower". Landmark Hunter.com. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  3. "Old North Point Water Tower". Historical Marker Database.org. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  4. 1 2 Jones, Catherine. "North Point Water Tower". Encyclopedia of Milwaukee.
  5. Mary Ellen Wietczykowski; Donald N. Anderson (1972-05-09). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: North Point Water Tower". National Park Service . Retrieved 2020-01-23. With one photo.