Eber’s water towers 1999
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 1/1999
The Swedish expression (translated) “the ball in the air” is an expression that is common in the start of the football season (the spring).
A free translation to English:
Three balls in the air at the same time is normal not an advanced act for a juggler. It will be different if the balls are made of steel, have a diameter of 10 metres and contain water. The water tower with three floating spheres is a beautiful view in the city of Eindhoven in the south Netherlands.
Constructor to this juggler act is professor W G Quist from Rotterdam. Water reservoirs that are separated can in other countries mean that they serve different pressure zones, but the Netherlands is not known as a country with big differences of altitude and quite consistent is all the three spheres in Eindhoven connected on the same main supply.
The problem that could arise with communicating vessels on different height has a solution with that all stand pipes reach up to 42 metres. With 523 m³, water in each sphere will the weight of the construction be 3 000 metric ton. The white futuristic water tower from 1971 is perhaps a tribute to the football club in the city, PSV Eindhoven – the ball in the air.
Published 1999-02-17
Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 2/1999
A free translation to English:
Live close to the water are regarding as very attractive, and what was in that case not more attractive than to live in a water tower. Logic is there many water towers that even contain apartments, as an example is the water tower in Seligenstadt in the south Hesse [Hessen] in Germany. A smaller town from 800s with all the qualities that there are in older German towns, and water tower that in the style harmony with the local building tradition. It means that the tower seems to be older than the building year 1936/37.
The 50 metres high building with a reservoir on 500 m³, is not longer in operation, which has done that there are plans to have apartments even in the upper part of the tower building. The tower is now standing as a symbol of the town, equal with the basilica and other very old buildings. The citizen of the Seligenstadt live even with a drained water tower close to the water, because the idyllic town with its old half-timbered houses is situated at the west bank of the river Main.
Published 1999-03-24
Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 3/1999
A free translation to English:
My series of of water towers has until now held an urban character. It is also probably the urban image the most of us have of water towers. Therefore shall I this time broke this pattern with a tower in rural surroundings. It is a small water tower near large water. North San Simeon, halfway on the famous coast road between Los Angeles and San Francisco was there for some years ago [1993] this small water tower. Near the tremendous water quantity in the Pacific has this limited water reservoir certainly fill its function to the owner.
The exact information about the reservoir volume or height is not known, but they can’t be overwhelming. Even if the building materials not is by the exclusive kind can the architect at least pride oneself with that the building have ocean view.
Published 1999-05-05
Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 4/1999
The struggle concern the vane on the top of the water tower.
A free translation to English:
Can water tower cause patriotic feelings? Yes, in Schlettstadt in Elsaß. The 50 metres high water tower in this town was built 1905 and had as model the water tower in the town Deventer in the Netherlands. On the top, above the water reservoir on 500 m³, was the German Eagle sitting and brood. The German loss in the First World War lead to that Elsaß pass to French tenancy and the name of the town was changed to Sélestat and Elsaß become Alsace.
Even the water tower become participates in this change. The German Eagle was replaced by the Gallic Cock. But only until 1940 however, when the cock must step down from the highest perch. When the war was ended the citizens thought that it must be enough, now should only the free birds occur on the roof.
The interesting is that these patriot quarrels only was exercised in the highest heights of the water spheres. As usual was the man hole covers forgotten. Therefore could you at least for some years ago [1994] outdoor the water tower find a man hole cover with the inscription “Hydrant – Wasserwerk Schlettstadt“. It would not do any harm if the nationalists sometimes look down.
Published 1999-06-09
Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 5/1999
A free translation to English:
1 500 m³ water, divided on three equal large reservoirs, contain the water tower in Hérouville-Saint-Clair, a large and modern suburb to Caen in the French Normandy. The steel water tower from 1963 have forms that gives reminiscence to the writer’s ice lollies in 1950s, or perhaps the modern standard lamp from the same period, but the tower sets undeniable both mark on and illuminate the suburb.
The firm SIDL has constructed the 52 metres high tower with a reservoirs at a height on 21 metres and a diameter on 6.5 metres. The manufacturing has been done in Delattre-Leviviers workshops in Valenciennes in the north France.
Considering of the water technical basics in the growing suburb in Normandy, should the constructor in the light of the post-war period of constructions have done the reservoir volume larger and got the memorable cubic metres 1944.
Published 1999-08-25
Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 6/1999
A free translation to English:
“Hände weg vom Wasserturm!” is one and a half meter high graffiti exhortation that it in many years has been possible to read on the water tower in Sternschanze in Hamburg. In a free translation will it be an exhortation to hold the hands off from the water tower, an exhortation that apparently not has been guilty to them who write on the beautiful brick wall. The concise text has periodically a more wordy exposition in the Internet, everything touch bottom in a dispute between they that rule Hamburg and some of the local people. The dispute concern how the tower that’s was out of operation 1961 shall be used in the future.
The history of the tower began otherwise with an architecture competition at the earlier turn of the century with 135 received proposals of tower shape. The proposal that was executed was the octagonal and 60 metres high water tower with a largest diameter of 32 metres. The tower had when it was completed 1907/1908 two reservoirs on each 2 150 m³, low zone respective high zone. The tower is now a historic building, and gets a peaceful future in the old fortlet area.
Published 1999-09-29
Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 7/1999
A free translation to English:
The city of Fresno in the central California was 1891 planning to built a water tower that not only should have a reservoir to quench thirst and extinguish fires, but even a library to the thirst of knowledge. The 100 feet high tower with a reservoir on 250 000 gallons was completed in 1894 and was in duty until 1963.
The tower library becomes however only a mirage. The brick-built water tower is designed in the American Romanesque style by architect George Washington Maher from Chicago.
A memorable tower, not only because it stand in a desert area that has been fertile by irrigation, but even to the architecture that signs inform. The United States Department of the Interior has placed the tower on the “National Register of Historic Places”, and the American Water Works Association has given the tower the honour “An American Water Landmark”. Additional sign tells that the building is dedicated to the General Manager of the Water Department. He was born 1891 and had 36 years service to the city of Fresno.
Published 1999-11-03
Eber’s water towers in Cirkulation 8/1999
The Swedish word “synvilla” is ambiguous. It can mean both “optical illusion” and “villa=house”.
A free translation to English:
An optical illusion in Bochum is the very elegant dwelling-house on Hattinger strasse in the district Weitmar. The shape of the exterior don’t expose that this building once has been a water tower. The idiom of the villa/tower rather gets the thoughts to more southerly districts than their place in the central Ruhr Area.
When the water tower was completed in 1905 had it a volume on 2 000 m³, divided on two reservoirs. The Federation of Water Works in Bochum [Verbandswasserwerk Bochum] took the water tower out of operation 1959 and sold it 1971 to the City of Bochum for a symbolic sum. Now is there a national puppet museum in the old water tower.
Published 1999-12-08
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