Visible from almost any approach to the city of Kalamazoo is a structure shrouded in mist, myth and mystery...the water tower on the grounds of the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital. The structure dominates the skyline as it rises in medieval splendor. Wrapped in fog or reflecting the hues of the rising or setting sun, the tower is a cherished landmark of the city.
Constructing the Tower
Toward the end of the nineteenth century, a Detroit architect, B. F. Stratton, was commissioned to plan a water tower that would serve the water supply and fire protection needs of the sprawling institution that had spread along what is now Oakland Drive. Stratton was instructed to come up with a structure that would complement the medieval feeling of the other buildings on the hospital grounds.
Construction began and ended in 1895 in the skilled hands of early stonemasons and bricklayers. The result is stunning.
The tower soars 175 feet into the air, rising from a base of cut stone blocks five feet high. The brick begins above this base. Approximately 50 feet wide at its widest point, it contains three water storage tanks inside. The main tank is 40 feet high and 40 feet in diameter and has a capacity to hold more than 200,000 gallons of hard water. Two smaller tanks flanking the main tank hold soft water.
The structure is really a tower within a tower. The outer shell tapers from six feet thick at the base to four feet at the top. Enclosed is an inner shell, which is also about six feet thick. Between the inner and outer shells is a wooden circular stairway, which winds upwards until it reaches 100 feet. Then a series of ladders leads to the top of the tower. At the top is a little room, gothic in appearance, that has a window facing in each direction. Four enormous wooden beams meet in the center of the room. They are etched with dozens of sets of initials carved by visitors, the oldest by one W. E. DeLong dated 1898.