{"nrhp_refnum":"71000625","name":"Raleigh Water Tower","other_names":["AIA Tower","See Also:78001978"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"115 W. Morgan St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Raleigh","county":"Wake County","state":"NC","lat":35.77930992000006,"lon":-78.64473560299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-12-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A downtown Raleigh complex at 115 West Morgan Street consisting of a two-story brick office building, an attached 85-foot octagonal granite-and-brick water tower built in 1887, and a rear two-story brick building around a courtyard.","why_significant":"The tower was built in 1887 as part of Raleigh's first water system and is one of downtown Raleigh's most picturesque landmarks. It reflects the city's history as a municipality, distinct from its role as state capital. It is also an early, excellent example of adaptive reuse of a building once slated for demolition, converted to offices by architect William Henley Deitrick in 1938.","narrative":"Rising eighty-five feet above West Morgan Street in downtown Raleigh, this octagonal tower began as a water works structure in 1887. Its lower thirty feet are rough granite blocks and the upper portion is brick, with three-foot-thick walls pierced by lancet windows. A 100,000-gallon iron tank once sat on top. The Raleigh Water Company built it for $14,000 as part of the city's first water system, and the city later operated it until a larger tank replaced it. Abandoned in 1924, the tower faced possible demolition for salvage. In 1938 architect William Henley Deitrick bought it, gutted the deteriorated interiors, added Georgian Revival trim, and converted it and an attached front building to offices, with a second brick building behind a walled courtyard. In 1963 it passed to the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects as its headquarters. It is valued as a local landmark and an early adaptive reuse.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"William Henley Deitrick (architect, 1938 renovation)","architectural_style":"Georgian Revival trim (1938) on an 1887 octagonal tower with lancet windows","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied; used as the state headquarters of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, with the tower's upper levels used for storage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.180662-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/7225/47722533/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/71000625.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000625/746b5f4ea7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000625/746b5f4ea7-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jmturner","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raleigh-Water-Tower-20080321.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jmturner</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raleigh-Water-Tower-20080321.jpeg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"02000946","name":"Depot Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/depot-historic-district-02000946/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722533","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh_Water_Tower","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7286950"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/wake-county/raleigh-water-tower-71000625/"}