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 Bangor
Water District
Thomas Hill Standpipe
The
Thomas Hill Standpipe was designed by Ashley B. Tower of Tower and
Wallace of New York and Holyoke, Mass. and built in 1897 by Major James
M. Davis on land once owned by the Thomas brothers. Using a portable
sawmill and blacksmith shop erected on site, the standpipe was built in
just six months. The standpipe is on the National Register of Historic
Places and is an American Water Works Landmark.
The
standpipe is actually two structures - a 1.75 million gallon riveted
steel tank enclosed by a wooden jacket. The tank is 75 feet in diameter
and 50 feet tall and is topped by a "carousel"; a three-ton
steel drum from which 24 iron trusses reach to the sides of the
building. The wooden jacket is 110 feet high and 85 feet in diameter and
consists of twenty four 12 inch x 12 inch x 48 feet hard pine main posts
covered by 42,000 board-feet of hard pine and 220,000 cedar shingles. It
sits upon a stone foundation 9 feet high and 3 ½ feet thick. A 100-step
winding staircase leads to the 12-foot wide promenade deck, which
overlooks the City of Bangor and surrounding communities.
The
standpipe is topped off with a 38-foot high flagpole and a railing
consisting of 192 banisters which give it the look of a large wedding
cake or crown when lit at night.
The
standpipe continues to provide water storage and regulates water
pressure for Bangor's downtown.
August
1, 2000
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