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Chicago Old Watertower

Chicago Old Watertower

Highlight • Monument

Chicago Old Watertower

Name: Chicago Old Watertower
Rating: 2

Recommended by 25 hikers

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Location: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States

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Best Hikes to Chicago Old Watertower

5.0

(3)

106

hikers

1. The Magnificent Mile – Lake Shore Park loop from Chicago

14.5km

03:40

30m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

106

hikers

2. Chicago Theatre – Skyline View at the Chicago Riverwalk loop from State/Lake

4.40km

01:07

10m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

5.0

(3)

hikers

3. Cloud Gate (The Bean) – Chicago Riverwalk loop from Harrison

8.49km

02:09

20m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

Tips

Bumble-Bee

September 15, 2022

By the 1860s, Chicago’s water supply was inadequate for its growing population. To solve the problem, Chief Engineer Ellis S. Chesbrough looked to Lake Michigan. Near-shore lake water was too polluted to be used because of runoff from the Chicago River. This prompted an innovative solution. Chesbrough designed a water supply tunnel system running nearly two miles offshore to an intake crib. When the tunnel was completed in 1867, lake water was pumped back to shore through a pumping station. Because the original pumps produced pressure surges and pulsation in the water, a standpipe system was added in 1869.

(architecture.org/learn/resources/buildings-of-chicago/building/chicago-water-tower/)

Karsten S.

April 21, 2022

The tower, built of yellowish limestone on North Michigan Avenue in 1869, is one of the few buildings in Chicago to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Architect William W. Boyington was commissioned to integrate the city's central drinking water pumping station into a building as inconspicuously as possible. The result was a tower in the style of British Neo-Gothic (English Gothic revival). However, Boyington had adapted the style quite excessively, which caused criticism at the time. Oscar Wilde called the creation a castellated monstrosity with pepper-boxes stuck all over it. The architecture is said to have inspired the design of some White Castle fast food restaurants.

The Chicago Water Tower is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The pump house now houses a gallery and visitor center for the Chicago Office of Tourism. The Chicago Water Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Contributing Property of a Historic District on April 23, 1975. Together with the Pump House and Fire Station 98, it forms the Old Chicago Water Tower District.
(wikipedia)

Translated by Google •

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November 11, 2023

The Chicago Water Tower is the city’s most familiar and treasured landmark. Constructed between 1867 and 1869, it was created for Chicago’s municipal water system, and originally housed a 135 foot iron standpipe used to regulate water pressure. It gained special significance as one of the few buildings to survive the destructive path of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Both the Water Tower and Pumping Station to the east were designed by William W. Boyington, one of Chicago’s most prolific architects of the mid-nineteenth century.
chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/city_gallery_in_thehistoricwatertower.html

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Elevation 180 m

Weather

Today

Saturday 13 December

-2°C

-16°C

78 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 23.0 km/h

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Location: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States

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Chicago Old Watertower

1. The Magnificent Mile – Lake Shore Park loop from Chicago

2. Chicago Theatre – Skyline View at the Chicago Riverwalk loop from State/Lake

3. Cloud Gate (The Bean) – Chicago Riverwalk loop from Harrison

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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