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Historic Watertowers

by Katherine Thomas

Minneapolis is the only city in the United States with three of its very own unused stone water towers. The area?s natural artesian wells allow the Minneapolis water supply system to service the bulk of the city by gravitational force. However, at the turn of the century, the high level of elevation in three developing districts left them unserviceable by the city?s natural water system. Thus the city constructed three watertowers: Kenwood, Prospect Park and Washburn. All but the Washburn tower were taken completely out of service in 1954 with the construction of the clear water basin in Columbia Heights. The elevation of the new basin was high enough to gravitationally service even these formerly troublesome areas. Only the Washburn tower is still used in the summer months when the water levels are at their lowest.

The Kenwood tower is located on Kenwood Parkway at Oliver Ave. S. The tower is sandwiched between two houses and overlooks a sloping park area. The neighboring trees have slowly reduced the tower?s visibility, so it must be looked for to be seen.

Of the three towers in Minneapolis, least is known about this one. The architect is unknown, as is the exact year of the tower?s construction. Most sources cite 1910 as the year, however, others cite 1912 or 1914. All that is definite is that the tank was constructed by Chicago Bridge and Iron Works.

The 110' octagonal tower is built of red brick with thick buttresses at each corner. The projecting ribs, narrow rectangular fenestration and romanesque battlement are reminiscent of a medieval fortress?a familiar design theme at the time of construction. The original stone rail at the top was removed in 1934 and replaced with a pipe. No reason for this could be found.

In 1979, two local residents nearly converted the unused tower into condominiums. I saw pictures. It would have been nifty. There was quite a bit of local support from neighbors who daily watched the tower decay. They wanted to make use of this intriguing, not to mention sturdy, structure. But the proposal had to be scrapped because of a bureaucratic ping-pong game played by the city council and the historical society. The tower was designated a city landmark months after this incident.