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