| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
An arcade supports the second story on this round brick water tower which was built in 1933 and was one of the largest elevated tanks in the world at the time of construction. 4,000,000 gallon capacity. Designated a Sheboygan County Landmark in 1983.
2011: Twenty-eight exterior concrete piers and fifty-two interior concrete columns support a flat, 16-inch-thick, reinforced concrete slab 196 feet in diameter upon which a 185-foot (in diameter) cylindrical steel tank rests. The tank is located 27 feet above ground and has a capacity of 4,000,000 gallons. An 8-inch-thick brick wall encloses the tank, but which is also located 3 feet from the tank to allow for a circular passageway around the tank. Twenty-eight brick pilasters with stone caps rise above the concrete piers, in between which are located expanses of brick within which rests tall-and-narrow slit-like windows. A conical steel roof covers the structure.
Statement of Significance
Construction of the Taylor Hill Reservoir began in October 1932 and was put into service in July 1933. At the time of its completion, the 4,000,000 million gallon structure was regarded as the largest elevated reservoir in the United States and the second largest in the world. Although the basic designs and calculations for the reservoir were done by the Sheboygan Water Department Superintendent Arthur H. Miller, the architectural firm responsible for the design of the structure was Edgar A. Stubenrauch, while the engineering was taken care of by The Jerry Donohue Engineering Co., both of Sheboygan. Additional consultation was made with Prof. William S. Kinne of the University of Wisconsin and the actual tank itself was built and assembled by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. The roof of the structure originally included the name of the city, as well as a north arrow for the aid of aviators; however, the markings were painted over following the start of World War II; it was also at that time that the chain-link fence was added. As of 1951, Sheboygan (and the subject reservoir) provided water to the City of Sheboygan Falls and to the Village of Kohler in 1973. In 1983, the structure was designated a county landmark. Although additional reservoirs have been added to the overall system, the subject reservoir is still a vital part of Sheboygan’s water utility.
The construction of the Taylor Hill Reservoir and its ability to supply water to a larger population, allowed for the later expansion and development of the City of Sheboygan. While the reservoir technology was not new, the subject structure was, at its completion, the largest of its kind in the United States (please note that other larger reservoirs had been built in the United States; however, they were either of the ground-level or subterranean type, not an elevated tank). |
|---|
