Photos courtesy of 618 Drone Service.
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ST. LOUIS - For over a century, two mysterious old buildings have stood above the Mississippi River on tiny, island-like platforms. Visitors near and far may wonder what they’re still doing there today, and what purpose they once served - and the answers might surprise them.
According to the City of St. Louis website, these are Intake Water Tower #1 and Intake Water Tower #2. Located just off the Missouri coast near the Chain of Rocks bridge, both buildings originally helped supply water to the city, which was experiencing rapid population growth during their construction. Today, they’re both classified as city landmarks, as they have been since 1971.
Tower #1 was built in 1894 and was designed in a “Richardsonian Romanesque style” by architect William Eames. The structure includes “an asymmetrically-placed turret with a conical roof, and rusticated limestone facades,” and once housed “living quarters for workmen,” according to an excerpt from A Preservation Plan for St. Louis.
According to the city, “Intake Tower #1 was not meeting the rising demand for water in the City of St. Louis,” leading to the construction of a second intake tower from 1913-1915. Intake Tower #2 featured “Roman Renaissance” styling designed by architectural firm Roth and Study, but its construction was not without incident.
“An unusual event occurred during the construction of tower #2 in June 1914, when a part of its cofferdam was struck by the excursion boat ‘Majestic,’ causing the boat to sink near the tower,” according to the city’s Historic Preservation website. The area’s steamboat channel, which originally ran between the two towers, was later relocated to another section of the river.
Tower #2 carried out its intended purpose of assisting the first intake water tower for a number of years, with full-time crews overseeing its operation into the late 1920’s. As of 2021, the first tower was still in use by the St. Louis Water Works, pumping water to the Chain of Rocks Water Plant, while Tower #2 still serves as a backup for on-shore intake water facilities.
The two historic intake water towers, standing proudly on the Mississippi River and still functioning after more than a century, serve as a testament to the longevity and ingenuity of a bygone architectural era.
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