{"nrhp_refnum":"81000219","name":"Western Springs Water Tower","other_names":["Water Tower"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"914 Hillgrove Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Western Springs","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.80985067300003,"lon":-87.90090516599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 112½-foot masonry water tower on a circular plan in the triangular Village Green park at 914 Hillgrove Avenue, Western Springs, Illinois, built in 1892 and designed by civil engineer Benezette Williams.","why_significant":"The tower has been the local landmark and symbol of Western Springs since 1892. It was built as the pumping station and water tank of the first village water system and still serves as an auxiliary supply. It is also regarded as an outstanding example of the work of Benezette Williams, a distinguished civil engineer.","narrative":"Rising 112½ feet above a small triangular park called the Village Green, this circular tower was completed in 1892 as the water tank and pumping station for Western Springs' first village water system. Its lower walls are rusticated local Lemont stone, gently tapered, with round-headed windows. Above a corbelled band, red brick walls with a blind arcade of twelve arches lead up to a wooden bracketed cornice and a conical roof. Benezette Williams, a resident civil engineer who laid out the village streets and designed its water and sewer systems, designed and built it. For 70 years the tower held village offices, the police department and the court. In 1968 the lower floors became a historical society museum. The tower still serves as an auxiliary water supply and carries the village's civil defense radio on its roof. It appears on village stationery and vehicle stickers as the community's symbol.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Benezette Williams, Civil Engineer","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"In excellent condition; still used as an auxiliary water supply and as the Western Springs Historical Society Museum. The interior was altered in 1968 and the grounds were redesigned that year.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.239676-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/8923/28892384/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/81000219.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000219/fd825a7b97-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000219/fd825a7b97-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08 at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WesternSpringsWaterTower.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08 at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WesternSpringsWaterTower.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892384","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Springs_Water_Tower","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7988324"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/western-springs-water-tower-81000219/"}