The High Service Water Tower and Reservoir, colloquially known as the Tower Hill Tower, is a public water supply facility off
Massachusetts Route 110
Route 110 is a southwest–northeast state route in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Route 110’s western terminus is at a concurrency of Route 12 and Route 140 in West Boylston, and its eastern terminus is at the junction of U.S. 1 and Rou ...
in
Lawrence, Massachusetts. The reservoir was constructed in 1874–75 to provide the city's public water supply, with a gatehouse designed by
Charles T. Emerson, a Lawrence architect.
[''Final Report of the Water Commissioners of the City of Lawrence''. Lawrence, MA: Sentinel, 1876.] The tower was built in 1896 as a high pressure standpipe or
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 ...
. The tower stands high, and is built out of red brick with granite trim. It is Romanesque in its style, and was designed by
George G. Adams, a noted local architect who had been taught by Emerson. The standpipe inside the tower is of steel construction and is in height. The area above the standpipe includes a balcony capped by a chateauesque roof, with round-arch windows providing views of the area. The main tower is octagonal in shape, with a narrow round staircase tower projection from one side.
The neighborhood surrounding the tower is known as Tower Hill, for obvious reasons. Although the hill and its accompanying neighborhood are associated with Lawrence, and the tower itself is located in, a small sliver of Tower Hill actually extends into the neighboring city of
Methuen. Thus, it is sometimes necessary to clarify whether one is speaking of Tower Hill, Methuen or Tower Hill, Lawrence.
The tower and reservoir were 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 1978.
See also
*
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, Massachusetts
References
Buildings and structures in Lawrence, Massachusetts
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Towers in Massachusetts
Reservoirs in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lakes of Essex County, Massachusetts
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