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St. Paul opens up water tower for fall foliage
Lines were flowing out the door to check out the Highland Park Water Tower on Sunday. St. Paul Regional Water Services opened the building up for public tours, and a lot of people took advantage of the rare opportunity to fall in love with the beautiful views of the Twin Cities.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Lines were flowing out the door to check out the Highland Park Water Tower on Sunday. St. Paul Regional Water Services opened the building up for public tours, and a lot of people took advantage of the rare opportunity to fall in love with the beautiful views of the Twin Cities.
"I would say it’s mind-blowing," Cordell Hope told FOX 9. "It’s just really amazing how far you can see up here. It’s like the whole city shrinks… you can see everything, no boundaries."
The water tower stands 127 feet tall, and since 1986, it’s been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
"You’re able to see in all directions. There’s no end to where you can see, you can see the whole city from up here," Hope continued. He and others were also able to see some falls colors on Sunday, "I don’t think they’re as good as usual, but maybe that’s because of the drought," Janet Van Tassel said of the foliage. "But, it’s pretty beautiful up here no matter what."
A pump house in the basement of the tower is still used to move water around town, but apart from that, the water tower is no longer in use as of 2017. However, each year on the third weekend in July, and on the second weekend of October, it’s flooded by 2,000 to 3,000 visitors over a two-day weekend event.