Beloit water tower

Beloit water tower
Beloit water tower
Location 1005 Pleasant St.
Beloit, Wisconsin
Architect J. B. Kinley
MPS Beloit MRA
NRHP reference # 83003410
Added to NRHP January 7, 1983

The Beloit water tower is a historic 1889 octagonal limestone water tower in Beloit, Wisconsin.

The tower, was built in 1885 and then completed in 1889 to serve the city's water needs, particularly fire protection, was privately funded and built by a consortium of local businessmen.[1] The pump house was the site of Beloit's first municipal water system.[2] Eventually serving 25,000 customers, it was abandoned after the completion of a 200,000 gallon adjacent steel water tower in 1935, and allowed to stand due to excessive demolition costs.[3] There are currently stonehenges in place where the long since removed 1935 steel gallon replacement tank used to be.[4] Now, the stone water tower is a visible community landmark offering excellent photo opportunities for camera buffs.[5]

The 100 foot high structure, located on a bluff overlooking the Rock River just north of the Beloit College campus, originally contained a 100,000 gallon water tank made of cypress, and pressurized seven miles of pipes.[6] The area surrounding the tower has been developed into Water Tower Park with an ADA accessible walkway. The Water Works Pump House has been completely restored and currently houses the City of Beloit Parks and Leisure Services offices and Friends of Riverfront offices. Also, visitors are welcome to stop in during business hours.[7]

Prior to the tower's construction in 1885, firemen had no reliable pressurized water system for the Rock River source. This limited the range of their hose lines, resulting in being unable to be put out some fires. This led to the funding for the project of constructing the tower. the businessmen who funded the construction were C.H. Morse, W.H. Wheeler, J.B. Peet, E.C. Allen, C.B. Salmon, and C.H. Parker.[8]

A Beloit Daily News article in 1935 said it was "once regarded as the finest piece of masonry in the west". It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Shingle Style pump house at the base of the bluff now acts as the Beloit Visitor Center.

References

  1. ↑ "Beloit Water Tower". LandmarkHunter.com. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  2. ↑ "Visit Beloit". Visit Beloit. 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  3. ↑ "Beloit Water Tower". LandmarkHunter.com. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  4. ↑ "Beloit Water Tower". LandmarkHunter.com. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  5. ↑ "Visit Beloit". Visit Beloit. 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  6. ↑ "Old stone water tower, 'built too well', still stands today | Newspaper Article/Clipping | Wisconsin Historical Society". www.wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  7. ↑ "Visit Beloit". Visit Beloit. 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  8. ↑ "Old stone water tower, 'built too well', still stands today | Newspaper Article/Clipping | Wisconsin Historical Society". www.wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved 2017-02-15.

Coordinates: 42°30′33″N 89°01′50″W / 42.5091°N 89.0305°W / 42.5091; -89.0305

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