The Chicago Water Tower: The Most Famous Survivor of the Great Fire

On the night of October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire swept through the city in a wind-driven firestorm that destroyed 17,450 buildings and left 100,000 people homeless. In the aftermath, only a handful of stone structures remained standing on the North Side. The most famous survivor was the Chicago Avenue Water Tower, a pale yellow limestone structure that looks like a medieval castle or a fairytale turret, standing at Michigan Avenue and Chicago Avenue. Built in 1869 to disguise a 138-foot standpipe, it was designed by W.W. Boyington in a Gothic Revival style that Oscar Wilde described as a "monstrosity" when he visited in 1882. It survived because its limestone construction was more fire-resistant than the wood-frame buildings around it. The water tower is now the second-oldest water tower in the United States, a Chicago landmark, and one of the most photographed buildings in the city. It currently houses the City Gallery, a small exhibition space.