The Old Fresno Water Tower continues to be a significant piece of history in Fresno to this day. Completed in 1894 by Chicago architect George Washington Maher, it stands 109 ft. tall, showing its prominence to the City of Fresno.
The 1890s were experimental times for Maher regarding his style of work. His inspiration for the design of the establishment was based off a Medieval Romanesque tower, until the Prairie style became more prominent for Maher in the late 1890s.
With an American-Romanesque look to the building, it is constructed with red bricks. The sizes of the bricks on the inside are different and placed in such a way as to create a beehive effect.
The water tank, which was imported from Sweden, can hold up to 250,000 gallons of liquid which was distributed to many residences at the time of its creation. The tower stayed in constant use until its pumping machinery ceased to be sufficient in 1963. Also, the need of water became much more expansive then the water tower could provide.
Three floors were meant to be installed under the water tank, but construction only reached completion to the second floor. A library was meant to be put in on the second and third floors, but never reached installment. For a while the first floor was used as a parking meter repair facility.
The second floor was subsequently removed and the interior remodeled for the visitors’ center for the city and County of Fresno in 2001. A separate restroom building was placed outside as part of the remodeling and a landscaped plaza was added to make the area look more inviting.
The City of Fresno maintains a Local Register of Historic Resources including objects, structures, buildings, sites, districts and private residences that have significance in Fresno’s history.
Any items on the list are protected by federal law from destruction. The tower was listed in 1971 as one of the significant buildings along with 27 other public sites of historical significance for Fresno.