Chicago Water Tower

The Water Tower, on Michigan Avenue, was built in 1869 and is one of the few buildings to survive the Chicago fire in 1871.  The white building behind it is Water Tower Place, and behind that is the Hancock Building. Supposedly the Water Tower inspired the design of White Castle restaurants.

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On November 13, crews, including, apparently, George Wendt, were installing Christmas lights on the plaza.

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I spotted a sign on the door of the Water Tower that said it was open to the public during exhibitions. There was nothing to indicate an exhibition was underway, and nobody was going in or out, but I figured it was worth a shot. I tried the door and found it open. A security guard sat at a desk and never so much as looked at me. The walls were hung with perhaps 15 photos of Manila, Philippines, for some reason. I was the only visitor. In case you’ve never had the thrill, here’s what the inside looks like. The photo on the bottom was taken through the window looking toward the pumping station across Michigan Avenue.

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