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The Water Tower on East Grand Avenue and 20^th Street in Saint Louis Missouri was placed into service in 1871. Referred to as “Old White”, it was considered to be the largest perfect Corinthian column in existence. It reaches a height of 154 feet and was designed by George Ingham Barnett, the first St. Louis architect to receive training abroad. It cost $45,000. The white tower is constructed of a brick shaft resting on a Chicago stone base and octagonal stone platform. It is topped with an iron capital cast in a leaf design. “Old White” was retired from service in 1912.

Old standpipe water towers were used over a century ago, before modern pumping methods. Steam-driven pumps were used to send water through the city. This method of pumping created large surges in pressure causing pipes to rattle and shake and low water pressure on the upper stories of homes. The large vertical pipes of the Water Towers allowed the water to rise and fall thus preventing surges and equalizing water pressure. Exterior towers were built to hide the standpipes for aesthetic reasons. Today the Standpipe Water Towers are obsolete and only seven remain in the United States. St. Louis has three of these: the Old White Tower, the Bissell Tower, and the Compton Hill Tower. All three have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since the early 1970s.