Old Chicago Water Tower District Extension

“But engineering skill has overcome that difficulty, and now gives us the finest water in the world, deep from the bottom of the lake. Simultaneously, construction of the present Chicago Avenue Pumping Station had been proceeding piecemeal on the site of the old one in such a way as not to interrupt the water supply.”

“Although his work was not innovative, it exemplified the eclecticism of Victorian architecture at its height. The style Boyington chose for the Water Tower and Pumping Station is described as "castellated Gothic." The term "castellated" refers to the use of battlements as a decorative emphasis.”

“The officials responsible for building the waterworks are listed on a plaque preserved under glass inside the tower. Two tablets are war memorials. The most recent plaques designate the tower as the first American Water Landmark and as an official Chicago Landmark.”

“The Old Water Tower, on the northwest corner, has long been recognized as Chicago's most familiar and beloved landmark. The more architecturally interesting of the two structures, it is no longer functional and has not been since early in this century.”

“The three buildings are pleasingly sited within the landscaped open space of Water Tower and Seneca parks. For Chicago, Chesbrough proposed a new system that included the unprecedented construction of a subterranean tunnel sixty feet below the lake surface and stretching two miles out from shore where he thought the water was certain to be pure.”

“For a brick fire engine house w/stone fronts to be built on Chicago Avenue, east of the Water Works. This building will be, when completed, one of the finest in the City.”

“Standing on both north corners of the prominent intersection of Michigan and Chicago avenues are two important and historic links with the past, the Old Chicago Water Tower and the Chicago Avenue Pumping Station.”

“The city's water supply system, today, although vastly enlarged and improved, is still fundamentally the same as the prototype developed by Chesbrough, and it is visited and studied by engineers and students from around the world.”

“This little one-engine firehouse was designed to complement the style of the waterworks and is a rare example of the Victorian Gothic style applied to this type of building.”

“It has served as the headquarters of Engine Company No. 98 since the formation of that company on October 31, 1904. Like the Water Tower, the Chicago Avenue Pumping Station is castellated Gothic in style.”

“A new vaulted plaster ceiling was added to carry the Gothic motif of the architecture into the interior. Simultaneously, the park surrounding the tower was refurbished with new honey locust trees and low shrubs.”