Is It a Castle? Is It a Water Tower? Minnesota’s Puzzling Landmark

One town in Minnesota is incredibly proud of their water tower, so much so that it is on the official city seal, and has become an iconic symbol of the town and the region for over 100 years.

This isn't your average water tower though, this first of its kind water tower that makes up the entire skyline of this Northern Minnesota city has a very distinctive, almost castle-like, look and will certainly catch your eye as you drive into town.

Built between 1919 and 1922, Brainerd’s historic water tower, located on 6th St. and Washington St., stands 141-feet tall and is thought to be the first all concrete water tower built for municipal water storage in the United States. The iconic water tower was designed by St. Paul Engineer L.P. Wolf, who also designed an almost identical tower in Pipestone, Minnesota.

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The water tower was designed to hold 300,000 gallons of water, and was used as an operational water tower until 1960 when it was drained after a new 1,000,000 gallon tank was built.

The water tower sits today in disrepair, the outside of the tower is covered in stucco, and chunks of it have been falling off it for years, the roof of the tower also needs some costly repairs done on it. Save The Historic Brainerd Water Tower is an organization that is trying to raise money to save the tower. The City Council has recently approved over $400,000 to replace the roof, and other organizations continue to raise money for the other projects.

The water tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the official description in the registry reads: "Nation's first municipal water tower built entirely out of concrete, constructed 1918–21; an innovation in water storage and a distinctive regional landmark."