Ypsilanti Water Tower
Encyclopedia
The Ypsilanti Water Tower is a historic water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....

 in Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The tower was designed by William R. Coats and constructed as part of an elaborate city waterworks project that began in 1889. Located on the highest point in Ypsilanti, the tower was completed in 1890 at a cost of $21,435.63. Today the tower is frequently joked about for its shape. In addition, the tower has well become a landmark for Ypsilanti. Due to the building's shape and location the tower is frequently used by residents as a point for providing directions for visitors and residents.

History

An ordinance passed on April 14, 1898, established a yearly rate schedule for residences with running water. Rates were based on the number of faucets in use, the type of business that customers operated and the livestock they owned. A residence with one tap was charged $5.00 and a private bathtub cost an additional $2.00. Saloon keepers paid $7.00 for one faucet, $3.00 for each additional faucet and $1.00 for each billiard table. Each cow a person owned cost $1.00. People who failed to pay their bill were subject to a $50.00 fine and ninety days in the county jail.

During the construction, hoping to protect themselves from injury, the builders made at least four crosses in the stonework, one over the west door, an elaborate but difficult to find Greek Cross on the east side and two inside the water tower. According the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority it was completed on February 3, 1890, at the cost of $21,435.63.

The Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority has operated and maintained the structure since 1974. In 1975 this tower was designated by the American Water Works Association as an American Water Landmark. It was restored in 1976.

The structure was the only water tower in the Ypsilanti water system until 1956. The Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority began operating and maintaining the structure in 1974. That same year the tower was designated by the American Water Works Association
American Water Works Association
American Water Works Association was established as an international non-profit professional organization dedicated to the improvement of water quality and supply. Founded in 1881, it claims a membership of around 56,000 members worldwide as of 2010.AWWA has become the largest organization of...

 as an American Water Landmark
American Water Landmark
An American Water Landmark is a landmark within the United States or Canada that is a historic location and is associated in some way with water...

. It was also designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the Michigan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...

. In 1976 it was restored.

Structure

The exterior was designed in the popular Queen Anne style of the period. Queen Anne design was less formal than other popular styles at the time. Instead it experimented with different shapes particularly towers. Queen Anne buildings also often had more decoration than this structure.

The stone tower is located at the highest point of elevation of the city on Summit Street. The tower is made of Joliet limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

. The tower is 147 feet tall, has an 85 foot base. The substructure walls taper from a thickness of forty inches at the bottom to 24 inches at the top. The reservoir holds a 250,000-gallon steel tank. When it was constructed it had a dual purpose. Not only did it store water but the falling water also generated electricity for the city street lamps at night.


A marble bust of Demetrius Ypsilanti
Demetrius Ypsilanti
Dimitrios Ypsilantis , , , also spelt Demetrius Ypsilanti, dragoman of the Ottoman Empire, served as an officer in the Russian Army in Moldavia, was appointed as the first Field Marshal in modern Greece by Ioannis Kapodistrias, a hero of the Greek War of Independence, and brother of Alexander...

 stands between a Greek and a U.S. flag at the base of the water tower. The city of Ypsilanti is named after this hero of Greek independence.

Present day

The tower's decidedly phallic shape has long been a source of humor for comedians in the Ann Arbor–Ypsilanti area. (A long-standing urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...

 holds that the tower will crumble if a virgin ever graduates from nearby Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...

. This is similar to other legends surrounding various landmarks worldwide.) In 2003 Cabinet magazine ranked the tower as the World's Most Phallic Building
Most Phallic Building contest
The World's Most Phallic Building contest was a contest held in 2003 by Cabinet magazine to find the building which most resembled a human phallus...

.

External links

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