About
|
|
|
Address: 401 Prospect Avenue
Neighborhood: Tangletown
Construction Date: 1931-1932
Architect: Harry Wild Jones
Engineer: William S. Hewitt
Sculptor: John K. Daniels
Architectural Style: Medieval Revival
Historic Use: Public - Water Tower
Current Use: Public – Storage
Date of Local Designation: 1980
Date of National Register Designation: 1983
Area(s) of Significance: Architecture; engineering
Period of Significance: 1900 -
Historic Profile: The Washburn Park Water Tower was the cooperative venture of three individually distinguished men in their respective fields. Harry Wild Jones, the architect, was responsible for several other notable structures including the Butler Square Building and the Lakewood Cemetery Chapel. The water tower sculptures were designed by John K. Daniels, a well known local artisan, who also designed the milling figures on the Washburn Flour Mills Utility Building. The consulting engineer, William S. Hewitt, was the inventor of the Hewitt System of reinforced concrete construction. The Washburn Tower suggests a strong medieval feeling; its cylindrical dome is like a Roman warrior’s helmet. Eight hooded knights surround the tower in perpetual vigilance while, overhead, eight eagles stand, as if pausing in flight, atop the evenly spaced pilasters. The 110-foot structure held 1.35 million gallons of water and provided water pressure to the surrounding neighborhood until the 1990's. The water tower remains an excellent example of the use of artistic design features in a public works facility.
Photo Credits:
1951, Ver Keljik, courtesy of The Minnesota Historical Society
2006, Minneapolis CPED
Works Cited:
"National Register of Historic Places – Nomination Form," August 1981.
Updated: February 2007, March 2018