Getting Tangled Up In Tangletown

The Tangletown neighborhood of Minneapolis (named for the tangled street design) is home to a unique water tower.

The Washburn Park Water Tower, was the cooperative venture of three individually distinguished men in their respective fields. Harry Wild Jones, the architect, was responsible for several other notable structures including the Butler Square Building and the Lakewood Cemetery Chapel. The water tower sculptures were designed by John K. Daniels, a well known local artisan, who also designed the milling figures on the Washburn Flour Mills Utility Building. The consulting engineer, William S. Hewitt, was the inventor of the Hewitt System of reinforced concrete construction.

The Washburn Tower suggests a strong medieval feeling; its cylindrical dome is like a Roman warrior’s helmet. Eight hooded knights surround the tower in perpetual vigilance while, overhead, eight eagles stand, as if pausing in flight, atop the evenly spaced pilasters. The 110-foot structure holds 1.35 million gallons of water and still performs its original function in the summer months. Source: City of Minneapolis