History of the Tower

On December 12, 1891, Mr. Wickerson, the village president at the time, sought the village’s right to place a water tower on land that had been originally known as “Block A.” On January 27, 1892 Charles and Ruth Collins donated “Block A” to the village of Western Springs with the understanding that it be used solely as the site for a water tower and public park. The deed also specified that the land could not be used for commercial purposes either then or at any time in the future.

Design and construction of the new water tower began shortly thereafter. Both were a collaboration between Benezette Williams and Edgar Williams of the firm of Williams and Williams (which later became known as MacRichie and Nichol) and Ethan Philbrick. All three were civil engineers and residents of Western Springs. Benezette Williams and Ethan Philbrick eventually served as village presidents. The cost of the Tower combined with the sewer and pumping system and the pumping station was $79,119.10.

Construction required 156 carloads of stone ordered from the Chicago and Naperville Stone Company. Each stone was cut and shaped by hand on-site. The Tower is 112.5 feet high at its tallest point and 36.5 feet in diameter. The walls are 6 feet thick at the base and the original water tank held 133,000 gallons of water. The Tower itself, which has three floors and a basement, served as the village offices, police department, and police magistrate court until 1957 when the village offices were relocated to the new firehouse on Wolf Road. Even this change proved inadequate and in 1968 a new administration building was built at 740 Hillgrove Avenue.

After 65 years the tower now stood empty. It was not until 1966 when a group of civic-minded individuals formed the Western Springs Historical Society and the village agreed to allow them establish a museum in the Water Tower. After three years of extensive renovations, the museum opened in 1970.

Improvements and maintenance of the park have continued thanks to the efforts of residents, civic organizations, and the Village. On April 10, 1981, the Tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places, as one of the few municipal water towers that also housed government offices.

At 1:00 a.m. on August 30, 1991, lightning struck the roof of the Tower and sparked a fire that smoldered until 5:00 a.m. when commuters reported 30 ft high flames. The water tank was punctured and is no longer capable of holding water. Fortunately, firefighters covered many of the valuable items in the museum preventing water damage. After two years of repair and restoration, the museum reopened in 1993. The Children’s Museum on the third floor was opened in 1995.