The Allen Hazen Water Tower, also known as the Municipal Water Tower, is a historic structure located on the west side of

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2004.

History

The first water storage facility in the city of Des Moines was located at Seventeenth and Crocker Streets, and it was completed in 1891. Before it was torn down in 1939, the Allen Hazen Water Tower was completed in 1931. It was designed by New York engineer Clinton Mackenzie of Everett & Hazen.

Allen Hazen Allen Hazen (August 28, 1869 – July 26, 1930) was an expert in hydraulics, flood control, water purification and sewage treatment. His career extended from 1888 to 1930 and he is, perhaps, best known for his contributions to hydraulics with the ...

, one of the partners in the firm and a pioneer in water treatment, was a consulting engineer to the

Des Moines Water Works The Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) is a publicly owned, municipal water utility with its headquarters in Water Works Park. It was founded 1871 southwest of downtown Des Moines, Iowa, along the Raccoon River and provides water to half a million ...

in the 1920s. He also supervised the tower's construction. Hazen died just before construction was completed and the tower was named in his honor. with While there are other water storage facilities in Des Moines, this is technically the only

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

in the city. At one time a large arrow was painted on top of the structure to guide pilots to the Des Moines airport.

Architecture

The tower was constructed in concrete and steel. The structure is tall and holds 1.7 million gallons of water. Everett & Hazen chose the Neoclassical style to reference the waterworks of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

. The base is composed of 15 concrete Tuscan columns that support the entablature. The tower's original design had called for 16 columns on the base and a

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...

capped with a concrete

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

that would surround the tank. Other decorative elements that were removed before the tower was built include brackets at the cornice and

astragal An astragal is a moulding profile composed of a half-round surface surrounded by two flat planes ( fillets). An astragal is sometimes referred to as a miniature torus. It can be an architectural element used at the top or base of a column, b ...

molding. As completed, the tank is exposed instead of hidden and its lapped joints continue the vertical lines of the columns on the base. An antenna caps the structure, which unites technology and traditionalism.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazen, Allen, Water Tower Infrastructure completed in 1931 Towers completed in 1931 National Register of Historic Places in Des Moines, Iowa Buildings and structures in Des Moines, Iowa Neoclassical architecture in Iowa Water towers on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa