Picture this 172-foot tower a century ago, pumping Ohio River water up to the homes of Walnut Hills. This 172-foot tower was built in 1894 by the Cincinnati firm of architect Samuel Hannaford as a form of water tower common in the late 1800s. It was raised to give sufficient water pressure to the surrounding area of Walnut Hills, receiving water pumped from the Ohio River through the neighboring Eden Park Station No. 7.
Inside its pipe the system distributed flow into one 36-inch main and two 24-inch mains to feed the neighborhood. The standpipe’s original public observation site is no longer accessible, and the structure went out of service in 1916 as the city adopted modern water towers. Its turret’s copper spire was removed in 1943 as part of a wartime scrap campaign, and the city now uses the historic shell as a communications tower.
Recognized for its place in the city’s infrastructure, it was listed on the National Register on March 3, 1980. Its copper spire is long gone, but the standpipe's tall silhouette still rises above Eden Park before your eyes.