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Louisville Water Tower

Coordinates:38°16′50″N85°42′4″W/ 38.28056°N 85.70111°W/38.28056; -85.70111
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Louisville Water Company Pumping Station
LocationLouisville, Kentucky
Coordinates38°16′50″N85°42′4″W/ 38.28056°N 85.70111°W/38.28056; -85.70111
Built1860(1860)
ArchitectScowden, Theodore R.
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP referenceNo.71000348[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 11, 1971
Designated NHLNovember 11, 1971

TheLouisville Water Tower,located east ofdowntownLouisville, Kentucky,near the riverfront, is the oldest ornamental water tower in the world, having been built before the more famousChicago Water Tower.[2][non-primary source needed]Both the actualwater towerand itspumping stationare a designatedNational Historic Landmarkfor their architecture. As with theFairmount Water Worksof Philadelphia (designed 1812, built 1819–22), the industrial nature of its pumping station was disguised in the form of aRoman templecomplex.

In 2014, theLouisville WaterWorks Museumopened on the premises.

History[edit]

Unknown to residents at the time, the lack of a safe water supply presented a significant health risk to the city. After the arrival of thesecond cholera pandemicin the United States (1832), Louisville in the 1830s and 40s gained the nickname "graveyard of the west", due to the polluted local water giving Louisville residentscholeraandtyphoidat epidemic levels. This was because residents used the water of tainted private wells, but the linkage was not discovered until 1854 by the English physicianJohn Snow,and not accepted as fact until decades later. Due to the water project's completion in 1866, Louisville was free of cholera during the epidemic of 1873.[3]

After several devastating fires in the 1850s, Louisvillians were convinced of the importance of the project. The decision was made by theKentucky Legislatureto form theLouisville Water Companyon March 6, 1854.[4][5]Private investors showed little interest and so after only 55 shares had been sold and the failure of a first attempt to secure voter approval to buy shares, the project was widely promoted. In 1856 voters approved purchase of 5500 shares in 1856, and another 2200 shares in 1859, transforming it into an almost completelygovernment-owned corporation.[6]

The inspiration for the architecture of Louisville's Water Tower came from the French architectClaude Nicolas Ledoux,who merged "architectural beauty with industrial efficiency".[5]It was decided to render the water station an ornament to the city, to make skeptical Louisvillians more accepting of a water company.Theodore Scowdenand his assistantCharles Hermanywere the architects of the structures. They chose an area just outside town, on a hill overlooking theOhio River,which provided excellent elevation. The location also meant that coal boats could easily deliver thecoalnecessary to operate the station. The main column, of theDoric order,rises 183 feet (55.8 m) out of aCorinthian porticosurrounding its base. The portico is surmounted by a woodenbalustradewith ten pedestals also constructed of wood, originally supporting painted cast-zinc statues fromJ. W. Fiske & Company,ornamental cast-iron manufacturers of New York.[7]Even the reservoir'sgatehouseon the riverfront invoked the castles along theRhine.[8]

The water tower began operations on October 16, 1860.[9]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.[10]

AtornadoonMarch 27, 1890irreparably 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 withcast iron.The tornado also destroyed all but two of the ten statues that were on the pedestals. Shortly thereafter, a new pumping station andreservoirswere built inCrescent Hill,and the original water tower ceased pumping operations in 1909. The pumping station was renovated in 2010.[9]

In January 2013, extensive renovations of the water tower property, including the addition of theLouisville WaterWorks Museum,began, and the museum opened on March 1, 2014.[11]

Statues[edit]

There are tenzincstatues above the first level'sbalustrade,each standing on a pedestal over aCorinthian column.They are listed clockwise below with identifiable features:[12][13]

  • An Indian hunter: atomahawkand a dog on a leash. He represents possibly the elementearth.[7]
  • ADanaide:emptying a largeamphoraon her raised leg. She represents "tasks that are never complete".[12]
  • Mercury:winged helmet.
  • Winter: headscarf,censerof flame in hand. (The four seasons here are all women.)
  • Hebe:raising a small jug above her head, a cup in the other hand.
  • Neptune:atrident.
  • Spring: a flower bud in one hand, a basket in another.
  • Flora:a wreath in her hand.
  • Summer: shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.
  • Autumn: a plate of harvest, grapes in her hair.[14]

The statues were originally urns in the plans. The first set of statues includedCeres,Diana,and a girl in abonnet.[12]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.January 23, 2007.
  2. ^"Louisville Water Company - Water Tower".Archived fromthe originalon October 31, 2006.RetrievedOctober 4,2014.
  3. ^Baird, Nancy D. (2001),"Epidemics",in Klebe, John E. (ed.),Encyclopedia of Louisville,University Press of Kentucky, p. 273
  4. ^Louisville Sweet SixteenArchived2007-04-05 at theWayback Machine
  5. ^abMorton III, W. Brown.Louisville Water Company Pumping Station NRHP Nomination Form(National Historic Surveys, 1971) p. 3
  6. ^Yater, George H. (2001),"Louisville Water Company",in Klebe, John E. (ed.),Encyclopedia of Louisville,University Press of Kentucky, p. 567
  7. ^ab"Images of Water Company Pumping Station by Scowden in Louisville, Kentucky".
  8. ^About Us HistoryArchived2001-03-09 at theWayback Machine
  9. ^ab"Water Co. station getting new look Renovation affects some weddings",The Louisville Courier-Journal,Louisville, KY: The Courier-Journal and Louisville Times Company: B2, January 24, 2010
  10. ^"Search For Markers".
  11. ^"Introducing the WaterWorks Museum – The Quest for Pure Water!".Louisville Water Tower Park.February 24, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon September 7, 2015.RetrievedMarch 17,2016.
  12. ^abcA panelfrom the Museum
  13. ^Video of the statuestaken by a drone
  14. ^Close-up of Autumn

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLouisville Water Tower.
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