Eber’s water towers 2018

The leading trade journal in Sweden, VA-tidskriften Cirkulation has since 1998 an article series under the heading Ebers vattentorn (Eber’s water towers), where Eber Ohlsson with text and photo presents interesting water towers in the world (except Scania and Sweden). Below is a free translation to English of these texts.


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 1/2018

A free translation to English:

Horses need to drink plenty of water. It is debatable whether it was that or to satisfy the public demand for water that made the building of a water tower in the city Luçon, when the French government in 1910 decided to establish a cavalry regiment here. The tower, which was built in 1912-13, was designed by architect J. Bardin.

The Art Nouveau tower in reinforced concrete and with ceramic details held 500 m³ of water. Inadequate maintenance and after it was shut down in 1961 did the tower to finally was threatened with demolition. 1992 was it rescued, however, and a study in 1996 showed how the tower could be reused.

Published 2018-02-07


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 2/2018

A free translation to English:

American water towers are sometimes what we call standpipes. Of the few classic stand pipes that are left, is actually three standing in Saint Louis, Missouri, a town known as the Gateway to the West. The oldest of these three stand pipes stands as a traffic island in the middle of East Grand Avenue, in an area where you cannot be too careful.

The 47 meter high tower was built in 1871 and was decommissioned in 1912. It was designed by architect George I Barnett, and is called the “Old White” although the white color now is faded. It is something special that in this area see this solitary column with Corinthian capital, so far from ancient Greece.

Published 2018-03-14


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 3/2018

A free translation to English:

The town of Heide in German Holstein has since 2005 marketed its water tower as an appropriate place for marriages. For this event you must take a lift to level 8, and then go in a spiral staircase up to level 10. Here in the wedding room, where once the water tank stood and now has room for 24 people, there are views in all directions.

When the 46 m high water tower was built in 1903, it got a reservoir with a volume of 225 m³. Tower architect was Wilhelm Voigt. The beautiful water tower became a monument heritage in 1978 and was out of operation 1989. Heide is otherwise known to be the capital of the medieval peasant-republic Ditmarsken.

Published 2018-04-25


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 4/2018

A free translation to English:

Champagne is a province in the north of France, but also a drink that is produced there. The drink consists mainly of carbonated water and alcohol, a little sugar, and many flavors. But much more expensive than water.

In the town of Epernay there is champagne firm Castellane, that 1906 at its facility built a 66 m high richly decorated tower of reinforced concrete. A water tower, which also was an advertising space for the company, not least towards the nearby railway line Paris-Strasbourg. Tower architect considered to be Toudoire Marius, who also designed the Gare de Lyon in Paris and the similar clock tower there.

Published 2018-06-07


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 5/2018

A free translation to English:

Angiolo Mazzoni, who was an engineer and architect of the National Post Office and the National Railways in Italy during the fascist period, designed two holiday camps, one for post and one for railway-employees’ children. The modernistic establishments, with a water tower in futuristic architecture, were completed in 1931. They are located in the seaside resort Calambrone at the Pisa-coast, north of Livorno.

The tower was a precursor to the water towers, which he later designed at Stazione Termini in Rome The holiday camps that was called Colonia Rosa Maltoni Mussolini after Benito Mussolini’s mother, is now privatized and modernized.

Published 2018-08-22


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 6/2018

A free translation to English:

1918, 100 years ago, a brick-expressionist water tower was standing clear in Eberswalde, a city north of Berlin. The 49m high tower with four pillars and a 200 m³ reinforced concrete reservoir was designed by architect Paul Mebes. The builder was the great brass foundry here, with ancestry back to 1698.

The brass foundry was a war-trophy in 1945, but re-industrialized in the early 1950s. The water tower was out of operation in 1964 and renovated for a lot of money 2004-2011. Today there is information here about the water tower and the brass foundry. You can see the whole tower as well as take the elevator up to the viewing platform.

Published 2018-09-19


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 7/2018

A free translation to English:

Water towers can be a good marketer, if designed well and is at the right place. Near the Interstate I 57, at the recreation area Rend Lake in southern Illinois, USA, is a spherical steel water tower shaped like golf ball on a peg and markets a 27-hole golf course. A form of advertising that applies at many golf courses.

It was the US Army Corps of Engineers, who in the 1960s founded the 75 km² large water reservoir Rend Lake, from which 300 000 people get their water. The Gulf Stream, the water that flows out of the golf ball, is needed naturally to keep alive the green carpets.

Published 2018-10-31


Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 8/2018

A free translation to English:

There are many parameters that influence the choice of location when a water tower shall be built. One is if you already have an elevation near the consumers, because in that case, it will reduce the construction cost, as if the land is already in public ownership. Therefore, one also finds several water towers on the fortification land.

Such height is Dronningens [the Queens] bastion in the city Nyborg Renaissance fortification. Here, on the Danish island of Funen’s east coast was there in 1899 therefore built a water tower in brick, barely 23 meters high and designed by architect Emil Swanenflügel. The water tower, with a water level indicator on the facade, is since 1997 a listed building.

Published 2018-12-05


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