Ypsilanti Water Tower

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Ypsilanti Water Works Stand Pipe
Ypsilanti Water Tower 2011.JPG
Ypsilanti Water Tower
USA Michigan location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Ypsilanti, Michigan
Coordinates 42°14′44″N83°37′29″W / 42.24556°N 83.62472°W / 42.24556; -83.62472
Built1890
ArchitectWilliam R. Coats
NRHP reference No. 81000318 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 26, 1981

The Ypsilanti Water Tower is a historic water tower in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States.

Contents

The tower was designed by William R. Coats and built as part of an elaborate city waterworks project that began in 1889. Located on the highest point in Ypsilanti, the tower was built in 1890 at a cost of $21,435.63 (equivalent to $663,528in 2023). Today the tower is frequently joked about for its phallic shape. It has become a well-known landmark in Ypsilanti, and due to the building's shape and location, the tower is frequently used by residents as a point for providing directions for visitors and residents.

History

An ordinance passed on April 14, 1898, established a yearly rate schedule for residences with running water. Rates were based on the number of faucets in use, the type of business that customers operated and the livestock they owned. A residence with one tap was charged $5 and a private bathtub cost an additional $2. Saloon keepers paid $7 for one faucet, $3 for each additional faucet and $1 for each billiard table. Each cow a person owned cost $1. People who failed to pay their bill were subject to a $50 fine and 90 days in the county jail. [2]

During the construction, hoping to protect themselves from injury, the builders made at least four crosses in the stonework, one over the west door, an elaborate but difficult to find Greek Cross on the east side and two inside the water tower. [3] It was completed on February 3, 1890, at the cost of $21,368. [4]

The structure was the only water tower in the Ypsilanti water system until 1956. The Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority began operating and maintaining the structure in 1974. That same year the tower was designated by the American Water Works Association as an American Water Landmark. It was also designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the Michigan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 1976 it was restored. [5]

Structure

The exterior was designed in the popular Queen Anne style of the period. Queen Anne design was less formal than other popular styles at the time; instead it experimented with different shapes particularly towers. Queen Anne buildings also often had more decoration than this structure. [6]

Bust of Demetrius Ypsilanti. Note cross in stonework over the entrance. Ypsilanti Water Tower Exterior Cross and bust.jpg
Bust of Demetrius Ypsilanti. Note cross in stonework over the entrance.

The stone tower is located at the highest point of elevation of the city on Summit Street. The tower is made of Joliet limestone. The tower is 147 feet (45 m) tall, has an 85-foot (26 m) base. The substructure walls taper from a thickness of 40 inches (100 cm) at the bottom to 24 inches (61 cm) at the top. The reservoir holds a 250,000-US-gallon (950,000 L) steel tank. When it was constructed it had a dual purpose. Not only did it store water but the falling water also generated electricity for the city street lamps at night. [6]

A marble bust of Demetrios Ypsilantis stands between a Greek and a U.S. flag at the base of the water tower. The city of Ypsilanti is named after this hero of the Greek War of Independence.

Present day

The tower has long been a source of humor for comedians in the Ann Arbor–Ypsilanti area, for its phallic shape; it has been nicknamed "the Brick Dick". [7] [8] An urban legend holds that the tower will crumble if a virgin graduates from nearby Eastern Michigan University. [9] In 2003 Cabinet magazine ranked the tower as the World's Most Phallic Building. [10]

See also

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.

The year 1890 in architecture involved some significant events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Chicago</span>

The buildings and architecture of Chicago reflect the city's history and multicultural heritage, featuring prominent buildings in a variety of styles. Most structures downtown were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Anne, Seattle</span> Seattle Neighborhood

Queen Anne is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States, located northwest of downtown. Queen Anne covers an area of 7.3 square kilometers (2.8 sq mi), and has a population of about 28,000. It is bordered by Belltown to the south, Lake Union to the east, the Lake Washington Ship Canal to the north and Interbay to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italianate architecture</span> 19th-century phase of Classical architecture

The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture with picturesque aesthetics. The resulting style of architecture was essentially of its own time. "The backward look transforms its object," Siegfried Giedion wrote of historicist architectural styles; "every spectator at every period—at every moment, indeed—inevitably transforms the past according to his own nature."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Columbia Building</span> Building in Los Angeles, California

The Eastern Columbia Building, also known as the Eastern Columbia Lofts, is a thirteen-story Art Deco building designed by Claud Beelman located at 849 S. Broadway in the Broadway Theater District of Downtown Los Angeles. It opened on September 12, 1930, after just nine months of construction. It was built at a cost of $1.25 million as the new headquarters and 39th store for the Eastern-Columbia Department Store, whose component Eastern and Columbia stores were founded by Adolph Sieroty and family. At the time of construction, the City of Los Angeles enforced a height limit of 150 feet (46 m), however the decorative clock tower was granted an exemption, allowing the clock a total height of 264 feet (80 m). J. V. McNeil Company was the general contractor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ile Aux Galets Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Ile Aux Galets Light, also known as Skillagalee Island Light, is located on Ile Aux Galets, a gravelly, low-lying island in northeast Lake Michigan, between Beaver Island and the mainland, approximately 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Cross Village in Emmet County, Michigan. Along with nearby Grays Reef, Waugoshance, and White Shoal Lights, it warns shipping away from the reefs and shoals of Waugoshance Point, which pose an imminent hazard to navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everton Water Tower</span> Water tower in Liverpool, England

Everton Water Tower is a water tower situated on Margaret Street in Everton, Liverpool. Now surrounded by a modern housing estate it is a Grade II listed building. The water tower is a well-known landmark dating from 1857 and can be seen from most of Liverpool standing at the top of Everton brow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solon Spencer Beman</span> American architect

Solon Spencer Beman was an American architect based in Chicago, Illinois and best known as the architect of the planned Pullman community and adjacent Pullman Company factory complex, as well as Chicago's renowned Fine Arts Building. Several of his other largest commissions, including the Pullman Office Building, Pabst Building, and Grand Central Station in Chicago, have since been demolished. Beman designed numerous Christian Science churches and influenced the design of countless more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Furbeck House</span> Historic house in Illinois, United States

The George W. Furbeck House is a house located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. The house was designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1897 and constructed for Chicago electrical contractor George W. Furbeck and his new bride Sue Allin Harrington. The home's interior is much as it appeared when the house was completed but the exterior has seen some alteration. The house is an important example of Frank Lloyd Wright's transitional period of the late 1890s which culminated with the birth of the first fully mature early modern Prairie style house. The Furbeck House was listed as a contributing property to a U.S. federal Registered Historic District in 1973 and declared a local Oak Park Landmark in 2002.

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

McKenny Hall, previously called McKenny Union and Charles McKenny Union, was the first student union on the campus of the Michigan State Normal College in Ypsilanti, Michigan. At various times the building has included bookstores, a bowling alley, a bank, a food court, a ballroom, and other social spaces for students. Today the building is known as McKenny Hall and is home to human resources, academic advising, and career services. After the new Eastern Michigan University Student Center opened in 2006, McKenny closed for renovations and structural preservation work. The building is located across from the famous Ypsilanti Water Tower on Cross Street and is a contributing property to the Eastern Michigan University Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joliet East Side Historic District</span> Historic district in Illinois, United States

The Joliet East Side Historic District is a set of 290 buildings in Joliet, Illinois. Of these 290 buildings, 281 contribute to the historical integrity of the area. Joliet was founded in 1831, deemed an ideal place for a settlement to reap the local natural resources. Most importantly, large beds of limestone provided a strong economic incentive to develop the area. Several important structures were constructed with Joliet limestone, including the Old State Capitol and Chicago Water Tower. Joliet incorporated in 1852 and prospered due to its location on the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ypsilanti, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Ypsilanti, commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and east by Ypsilanti Township. Ypsilanti is a part of the Ann Arbor metropolitan area, the Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor combined statistical area, and the Great Lakes megalopolis. The city is also the home of Eastern Michigan University (EMU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piety Hill Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Piety Hill Historic District is a historic district located in downtown Lapeer in Lapeer County, Michigan, USA. It was designated as a Michigan State Historic Site and also added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 26, 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brinkerhoff–Becker House</span> Historic house in Michigan, United States

The Brinkerhoff–Becker House, also known as the Becker–Stachlewitz House, was built as a private home, and is located at 601 West Forest Avenue Ypsilanti, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1977 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

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

Starkweather Hall, also known as Starkweather Religious Center, is a religious and educational building located at 901 West Forest Avenue in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1972 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is also part of the Eastern Michigan University Historic District and is the oldest building on EMU's campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Michigan University Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

Eastern Michigan University Historic District is a historic district on the very south end of the Eastern Michigan University campus. Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan in Washtenaw County. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School. Several buildings since its founding have achieved historical significance and eventually establishing it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The district was established in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phallic architecture</span> Architectural or sculptural structures representing the human penis

Phallic architecture consciously or unconsciously creates a symbolic representation of the human penis. Buildings intentionally or unintentionally resembling the human penis are a source of amusement to locals and tourists in various places around the world. Deliberate phallic imagery is found in ancient cultures and in the links to ancient cultures found in traditional artifacts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ypsilanti Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Ypsilanti Historic District is a historic district located along several blocks on each side of the Huron River in the center of Ypsilanti, Michigan. The original portion of the district was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978; additions to the district were nationally listed in 1989.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. Huff, Aaron (September 25, 2011). "Ypsi tower history". Eastern Echo . Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  3. "Ypsilanti Water Tower, Michigan, USA". Building.am. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  4. "The YCUA Stone Tower". Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  5. "Ypsilanti Water Tower - 1890". Ypsilanti Historical Society. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "EMU: Historic Tour". Eastern Michigan University. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012.
  7. Schonberger, Nick (November 12, 2012). "The 10 Most Ridiculous Phallic Buildings". Complex Networks . Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  8. Dicker, Ron (June 6, 2014). "10 Buildings that Look like Penises (PHOTOS)". HuffPost.
  9. Danger, Tatiana (October 28, 2014). "Michigan's Ypsilanti Water Tower is the world's 'Most Phallic Building'". Roadtrippers. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  10. "The Most Phallic Building in the World". Cabinet .