Old North Point Water Tower

The Old North Point Water Tower is a landmark on Milwaukee's East side! In 1871 the Wisconsin legistature authorized the city of Milwaukee to finance & build a public water system that would provide cheap, plentiful, pure water to the people & businesses of the city. They built this tower in 1873 on top of a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, with the pumping station at the bottom of the bluff. The tower housed a wrought iron standpipe that absorbed pulsations from the steam-driven engines & also prevented ice from forming in the standpipe in the winter. It's 175 feet tall, is Victorian Gothic in style, & is built of cut Niagara limestone, which came from Wauwatosa, a city just west of Milwaukee. It was used until 1963....now it just sits on the bluff, watches over the Lake, & looks pretty!