Cover Story

Happy 100th
Birthday

Marston Water
Tower

Grad Student's
Role in Computer
Project

Essence of
Engineering Remains
Unchanged

College of
Engineering Statistics

Research & Learning

Alumni

Cross Cutting

Credits

Past Issues

Marston Muses
Readership Survey

While state-of-the-art buildings like Howe Hall represent the college’s commitment to the technology needs of the next millennium, a nearby structure with old-world charm quietly stretches up amidst it all—a silent reminder of engineering roots and resourcefulness.

Built in 1897, the water tower was conceived as a practical yet elegant solution to a serious problem that threatened to paralyze the campus. The college wells were drying up, even to the point of closing classes due to lack of water.

So when the state legislature appropriated funds to construct a water system, Anson Marston, then a civil engineering professor, submitted a plan to build a structure that would, in his words, “serve as an object lesson, both to citizens of the state and to hundreds of young engineers.”

With his characteristic flair for planning and innovation, Marston designed the structure specifying a steel framework instead of the conventional wood, to double the tower’s strength, making it more stable. To ensure a stronger foundation, eight columns were used instead of the customary four, and a horizontal circular girder was used to keep the tank firmly in place under the harshest weather conditions.

The tower also served as experimental ground for Marston’s invention of a frostproofing mechanism. A heating chamber inside the tower allowed smoke and hot air from a fire to heat the space around the pipe to prevent freezing.

Marston was heard to say, “the faults common in the design and construction of water towers have been carefully avoided.” The Marston Water Tower, as it was later named, saw almost 80 years of service until 1978 when the university was connected to the Ames water system.

In 1981, the tower was entered into the Register for National Historic Places, and between 1983 and 1985, alumni-supported renovation efforts helped refurbish it to last yet another lifetime.

So as technological marvels continue to dot the engineering landscape at Iowa State, this enduring landmark is sure to provoke a long, upward glance, gently reminding us of an engineering legacy of extraordinary proportions.

• Held 162,000 gallons of water, equal to 5,200 barrels
  
  
• Was first elevated steel tank west of the Mississippi
  
  
• Remains the tallest campus structure at 168 feet (Campanile – 110 feet)
  
  
• Cost $10,281.31 to build in 1897 and $80,000 to renovate in the 1980s