The Chicago Water Tower

Contaminated drinking water killed thousands of Chicago’s original citizens, so the city took the unprecedented step of digging a tunnel two miles long and 30 feet below lake bottom. Since the facilities on shore included an unsightly 138—foot vertical pipe, famed architect William Boyington concealed it with a limestone, castle—like tower that soon became a celebrated landmark. Through the first 150 years of its existence, Chicago’s iconic Water Tower has survived the Great Fire—the only p...