Louisville Water Tower

Infobox_nrhp | name =Louisville Water Company Pumping Station
nrhp_type = nhl

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caption =
location= Louisville, Kentucky
lat_degrees = 38 | lat_minutes = 16 | lat_seconds = 49.99 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 85 | long_minutes = 42 | long_seconds = 5.04 | long_direction = W
area =
built =1856
architect= Scowden,Theodore R.
architecture= Classical Revival
added = November 11, 1971
governing_body = Louisville Visual Arts Association
refnum=71000348 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The Water Tower of Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest ornamental water tower in the world, having been built before the more famous Chicago Water Tower. [http://www.lwcky.com/about_us/towerhist.htm] Both the actual water tower and its pumping station are on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The inspiration for the architecture of Louisville's Water Tower came from the French architect Claude-Nicholas Ledoux, who merged "architectural beauty with industrial efficiency". [Morton III, W. Brown. " [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/71000348.pdf Louisville Water Company Pumping Station NRHP Nomination Form] " (National Historic Surveys, 1971) pg.3]

Louisville in the 1830s and 40s had gained the nickname "graveyard of the west", due to the polluted local water giving Louisville residents cholera and typhoid at epidemic levels. This was because residents used the water of tainted private wells. The decision was made by the Kentucky Legislature to form the Louisville Water Company on March 6, 1854. [ [http://www.aph.org/aphnew/sweet16.html Louisville Sweet Sixteen ] ] [Morton pg.3]

It was purposely decided to render the water station an ornament to the city, to make dubious Louisvillains more accepting of a water company. Theodore Scowden and his assistant Charles Hermany were the architects of the structures. They chose an area just outside of town, on a hill overlooking the Ohio River, which provided excellent elevation. The location also meant that coal boats could easily deliver the coal necessary to operate the station. The main column, of the Doric order, rises 183 feet out of a Corinthian portico surrounding its base. The portico is surmounted by a cast-zinc balustrade with ten pedestals cast in zinc, originally supporting painted cast-iron statues from J. W. Fiske & Company, ornamental cast-iron manufacturers of New York, which depicted Greco-Roman deities, the four seasons, and an Indian hunter with his dog. [ [http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/kentucky/louisville/watertower/watertower.html Images of Water Company Pumping Station by Scowden in Louisville, Kentucky ] ] Even the reservoir's gatehouse on the riverfront invoked the castles along the Rhine. [ [http://www.lwcky.com/about_us/history.htm About Us History ] ]

The water tower began operations in October 1860. The tower was not just pretty; it was effective. In 24 hours the station could produce 12 million US gallons (45,000 m³) of water. This water, in turn, flowed through 26 miles (42 km) of pipe. [ [http://www.kentucky.gov/kyhs/hmdb/MarkerSearch.aspx?mode=Subject&subject=142 KY:Historical Society - Historical Marker Database - Search for Markers ] ]

A tornado on March 27, 1890 irreparably changed the Water Tower. The original water tower had an iron pipe protected by a wood-paneled shaft, but after the tornado destroyed it, it was replaced with cast iron. The tornado also destroyed all but two of the ten statues that were on the pedestals. Shortly thereafter, a new pumping station and reservoirs were built in Crescent Hill, and the original water tower ceased pumping operations in 1909. The statues and the tower itself were most recently renovated in 1993. [http://www.lwcky.com/about_us/statues.htm] [Morton pg.5]

Today

The tower is currently leased by the Louisville Visual Arts Association, who offer art displays inside, and hold an annual party during the Great Steamboat Race. Other annual events include an art auction and contemporary art dinner plates.

The National Historic Landmarks program currently considers the pumping station, as well as the boiler house, to be "deteriorated". There is also concern that the Ohio River Bridges Project might further endanger the property. [ [http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1098&ResourceType=Building National Historic Landmarks Program (NHL) ] ]

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.louisvillevisualart.org/ Louisville Visual Arts Association website]
* [http://www.lwcky.com/about_us/towerhist.htm History of Water Tower]