Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

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• Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

• Title: Chicago Water Tower, 800 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL
• Creator(s): Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
• Related Names:
     Boyington, William W.
     Homolka, Larry J. , historian
     Klugh, Terra , transmitter
     Rudd, J. William , historian
     Unknown , photographer
     Berry, Paul , delineator
• Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 1933
• Medium: Photo(s): 1
  Measured Drawing(s): 3
  Data Page(s): 9
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
  
• Call Number: HABS ILL,16-CHIG,43-
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • Significance: The Chicago Water Tower was built in 1869, and in 1973 the structure was listed on the National Register of Historical Buildings. Three years in construction, the tower was designed to hold a vertical iron water standpipe, 3 feet in diameter and 138 feet in height. This standpipe was used in connection with the main pumps of the Chicago Water Works. The pumping house, presently serving as a tourist center, is located across Michigan Avenue from the water tower. The standpipe within the tower held a column of water which had the capacity to equalize the surges of hydraulic pressure that were caused by sudden fluctuations in the city water demand. The system generated 15 million gallons a day, and it functioned until after the turn of the 20th century. In 1911 both the standpipe and the pumps were removed with the advent of later model engines. The tower was built of native buff limestone taken from Joliet, Illinois. This geological stratum, long since quarried out, had produced, through the 19th century, a building stone of remarkable quality, widely noted for its light golden hue, densely grained and free of streak and shade. The most skilled stonecutters and master masons were engaged to dress each limestone block. Of particular interest was their treatment of the cornerstones in the octagonal tower. The entire face of the block was removed by chisel in order to bring out a bullnosed contour pattern which projected outward from each octagonal corner. The purpose of the long toil lay solely on the aesthetic level. The shadows cast by the raised profiles created the dramatic contrast between light and dark that characterize the tapering spire, both night and day. The water tower, having survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, has become the recognized symbol of the city. The Chicago Water Tower was designed by the architect, William W. Boyington (1818-1898). Boyington was born in Southwick, Massachusetts, and he moved to Chicago in 1853. His first major civil commissions built in the downtown area included the Central Union Depot, the Sherman House Hotel and the Massasoit House Hotel. Thereafter, he was more widely known for his many church commissions. Among his larger ecclesiastical works were the First Presbyterian Church, St. Paul's Universalist Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the First Baptist Church, and North Presbyterian Church, and te Centenary Episcopal Church. These ecclesiastical works had been derived from the Medieval Gothic tradition, but his designs tended to emphasize the rectilinear, rather than the curvilinear aspect of the structure. Boyington was included by the European architectural writers of the 19th century, and by their depiction of the castellated Gothic style. Illustrated among their engravings was the famous Cloth Merchant's Hall of Bruges, Belgium. Boyington's water tower, seen in its theme and concept, bears a likeness to this renowned Gothic tower. In both buildings, the exterior detailing of the structure corner buttresses, lancet windows, slotted battlements, projecting turrets, wall piers, angular parapets, tower spires all tend to conceal the underlying simplicity of the design. In both structures, the first floor was seen as a grouping of four cubes into a square, to serve as a pedestal for the tower. Two additional cubes, similar in size, were placed vertically on the base. On this staging, the octagon tower was built. The surface elements, seen on the facade of the building, provide the orchestration for its perspective view, and are essential to this Gothic master work. The various frontal elements have the capacity to coalesce into a unified whole, and few American landmarks can project an image so graceful as this simple candelabrum format.
  • Survey number: HABS IL-1041
  • Building/structure dates: 1869 Initial Construction
  • National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 75000644
• Subjects:
  • water towers
  • stone buildings (limestone)
  • octagonal towers
  • Gothic Revival architectural elements
  • water supply
  • standpipes
• Place:
  • Illinois--Cook County--Chicago
• Collections:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
• Part of: Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
• Bookmark This Record:
     https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il0097/

Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

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• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: HABS ILL,16-CHIG,43-
• Medium: Photo(s): 1
  Measured Drawing(s): 3
  Data Page(s): 9

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• Call Number: HABS ILL,16-CHIG,43-
• Medium: Photo(s): 1
  Measured Drawing(s): 3
  Data Page(s): 9

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     As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)

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