Ornamental Stand Pipe

Designed by engineers Birkinbine & Trotter, the standpipe (water tower) was completed circa 1855 for the West Philadelphia Water Works to serve as a reservoir for the waterworks, located on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, north of the Fairmount Dam. It reached a height of 130 feet and a diameter five feet. The proposed design saw it topped with a statue of George Washington.

A contemporary article in Gleason’s Pictorial claims “Philadelphia commenced the example in this country, as it regards supplying her citizens with good wholesome water. … It can easily be demonstrated that the health of a city largely depends on a proper supply of the pure element, so as to place it within the reach of all classes.”

The standpipe was removed in 1870.