In 1940, the Santa Fe Tank & Pipe Co. rebuilt the tank, with it now being able to contain 75,000 US gal (280,000 L), making it the largest water tower ever on the West Coast at the time
Used by Pacific Electric until 1945, then from 1945 until 1974 it stored water that was pumped from an artesian well from Bolsa Chica bluffs.
Deemed too expensive to rehabilitate, it due to be torn down in the 1980s, but a public outcry saved it and it was converted into a house that you can visit today.
87 feet tall, (9 stories in terms of typical buildings)
When the trains sadly stopped running, the water tower became obsolete and several architects intervened and converted the tower into the house it is today. The house was converted by a math professor at Long Beach City College who had once bought another water tower. The conversion was finished in 1984.
I've been surprised to have posted about water towers, who built them, how, and where... and this one is bigger than most city water towers I've seen.
It's not the largest, I used to live next to the million gallon tower in North Park https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2021/03/thats-famous-north-park-water-tower-in.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderson_Street_Water_Tower
You have GOT to watch this video... but keep in mind, as rich and successful as this guy is, he has no clue how much water weighs per gallon. It's not 6 pounds, as he states. It's 8.3 pounds a gallon> How did I know? I crewed on subs, and buoyancy, ballast, displacement etc are just everyday facts to submariners. Sea water is 8.55
Thank you Steve! Thank you 49er Badger!
My initial thought was that water supply tanks for steam engines aren’t required to be held as high in elevation because water simply drains out of it to a single waiting tender through an outflow pipe of an adequately sized diameter. On the other hand, water supplied to multiple community users needs to be stored high in elevation in turn to create higher head pressures needed to provide water through multiple, smaller supply lines at adequate pressure for the end user. The tower in the photo appears to be tall enough for the latter.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Wikipedia has an article about this tower, stating that it was indeed once utilized to supply water to steam engines but was later converted to municipal use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderson_Street_Water_Tower
Here’s a modern Google street view of the same location. The tank on top has been replaced by a residence.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/NWeWPQqaQwfqgDZH6
Here is an aerial view including the water tower circa 1960 on the Flickr site of the Orange County, California Archives:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ocarchives/5013007180
49er Badger
you are blowing my mind... 1st, that you looked this up. Dang, I don't think that I post much that causes people to start wondering and then looking things up. 2nd... this tower had me wondering, not sure which it was used for, and you FOUND the dang thing on the internet, identified it's location, AND it's factual purpose? Which turned out to be BOTH!
DeleteYou are awesome and blew my mind!