Compton Hill Water Tower — Historic Restoration Fundraising Focus
Vertical cracks are spreading across the limestone face of the Compton Hill Water Tower, letting water seep into a structure that has stood near Grand and Russell in St. Louis for 128 years. The 179-foot tower, open for tours every Saturday from April to November, is now the focus of an urgent campaign to raise roughly $8 million over three years before deterioration goes any further.
The effort is being led by the Water Tower & Park Preservation Society, the same volunteer-driven group that organized a $19 million restoration of the tower in 1999 after the city considered demolishing it, according to the City of St. Louis. That earlier rescue came after the tower sat unused since 1984, when asbestos was discovered in its interior tank wrapping. This time, as reported by St. Louis Magazine, the society hopes to recruit volunteers with experience in fundraising, grant writing, design, and construction to help make the case to neighbors, corporate donors, and public agencies alike…