Remnants Of The Past: North Loop’s Historic Water Towers
A century ago, as our warehouses and factories were in full production, the city of Minneapolis didn’t have water pressure strong enough to handle the plumbing and fire suppression needs of buildings this tall.
That’s why companies would install large holding tanks on the rooftops, pump them full of water and then use the power of gravity to provide that extra downward pressure when it was needed.
You can still see the historic tank on top of the old Ford building across from Target Field, above, where the automaker turned out a half-million Model Ts starting in 1914.
Other buildings, such as the former Northern Bag factory, above, obscured the water tower by surrounding it with brick as an architectural design element. This historic structure, built in 1920, is now a residential building, Tower Lofts.
Another example is the former warehouse for Our Own Hardware on North Third Street. The decorative rooftop tower provided water pressure to this eight-story building which is now part of The Hall Lofts.
You’ll see several other buildings around the neighborhood, including Colonial Warehouse, above, where the tower remains but the water tank was removed decades ago.
And there used to be a water tank atop the Loose-Wiles office building on Washington Avenue, which opened in 1912 as a large-scale bakery, turning out Sunshine Biscuits and other treats. In more recent years, a popular brewpub, Freehouse, has been operating in the building’s former annex.
Please visit the Historic North Loop section of this website for many more fun photos and articles about our neighborhood’s history.
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer