Name: Grand Avenue (Old White) Water Tower
Address: 20th Street and Grand Avenue
Year: 1870
Architectural Firm/Architect: George I. Barnett
Property Type Codes: Tower, water
Dimensions: 154 feet tall, standpipe
Designation: City Landmark, National Register of Historic Places,
District: Certified Local Historic District
History:
The Grand ("Old White") Water Tower was built to even out and maintain the City´s pumped water pressure. It was designed in 1870 by George I. Barnett, the first European trained architect in St. Louis. Standing 154 feet high, it was declared as the largest free-standing Corinthian column in the world. It has not been used since 1912.
There was an effort after the World War II to raze it. The action was successfully fought and $15,000 was raised to repair it. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
"The Grand Avenue Water Tower was designed by St. Louis architect George I. Barnett and completed in 1871. It is a colossal Corinthian column with plinth, base, shaft and capital, totaling 154 feet high, constructed in brick and stone with cast iron trim." [From the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as prepared by M. Patricia Holmes, research architectural historian, April, 1970.]
People
Barnett, George Ingham
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