Climb inside a 179-foot St. Louis tower for free and see the whole old city from the top

The tower’s got a wild story, and so does the statue

St. Louis has three water towers still standing from the 19th century. Most people have never heard of them.

The one at Compton Hill Reservoir Park is the tallest, the most decorated, and the one you can actually go inside.

It sits on one of the highest points in the old city limits, 36 acres of parkland wrapped around a reservoir that still holds 28 million gallons of water. A bronze statue nearby once shocked the entire city.

Start at the base of the tower and work your way up.

Built on the highest ground inside the 1855 city limits

The park dates to 1867, which makes it one of the oldest public green spaces in St. Louis. Engineer James P. Kirkwood chose this site for the city’s water reservoir because it sat on high ground.

The reservoir took up 18 acres. Kirkwood looked at what was left and suggested the city turn it into a park.

It opened the same year the reservoir was completed, 1871, at a total cost of nearly $300,000. By Sunday afternoons, it was packed with people walking the paths and watching the lily ponds.

The tower went up in 1898 and it still turns heads

Harvey Ellis designed the tower, and he did not play it safe.

The structure rises 179 feet using limestone at the base, buff brick up the shaft, and decorative terra cotta all the way to the top. The roof is bell-shaped and tiled.

The style is Romanesque Revival, which means rounded arches, heavy stone, and a lot of carved detail. Construction wrapped up in 1898, and people were stopping to look at it even while workers were still on the scaffolding.

Only seven towers like this still exist in the whole country

More than 400 standpipe water towers once stood across the United States. Today, seven remain.

St. Louis has three of them, including this one, the Bissell Tower, and the Grand Avenue Water Tower. Compton Hill is the newest of the three.

The city recognized it as a landmark in 1966, and the National Register of Historic Places added it in 1972. Three of the last seven in the country, all in one city, and most people drive past them without a second look.

198 steps take you to a view stretching into Illinois

The spiral staircase inside is iron, and it climbs 198 steps to the observation deck. There are landings along the way, so you can stop and catch your breath.

When you reach the top, you can see downtown St. Louis, the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, and clear across the river into Illinois.

The stairway walls display historic photos and maps that tell the tower’s story as you climb. Volunteer docents are often waiting at the top to answer questions.

The tower opens once a month, and on full moon nights too

You can go inside on the first Saturday of each month from April through November, and also on full moon evenings during that same stretch.

Openings start at 5:30 p.m. A small admission fee goes directly to preservation work. Before you make the drive, check the Water Tower Foundation’s official website, because dates can shift.

The full moon openings fill up fast, and the view from the deck at dusk is worth planning around.

Get close and look at what the stonemasons carved into the walls

The walls of the tower are covered in carved leaves and mythical creatures worked into the limestone and terra cotta. Run your hand along the base and you can feel the texture of the stonework.

Inside the ornate shell sat a 130-foot standpipe, the actual working piece of the system, surrounded by all that decorative brick and stone. Ellis designed the outside to look like a civic monument.

The engineers just needed a pipe. Both of them got what they wanted.

A bronze nude statue arrived in 1914 and the city had opinions

South of the tower, a large bronze woman sits on a stone base holding two torches.

The German-American Alliance installed her on May 27, 1914, as a tribute to three German-American newspaper editors: Carl Schurz, Emil Preetorius and Carl Daenzer.

All three had run the Westliche Post, a German-language paper in St. Louis. The torches she holds represent the enlightenment of Germany and the United States.

The statue is called The Naked Truth, and the name is not accidental.

Beer money and a Berlin sculptor made the whole thing happen

Wilhelm Wandschneider of Berlin won the design contest, beating out every local sculptor who entered. The total cost ran $31,000.

Beer baron Adolphus Busch wrote a check for $20,000 of it. The nudity set off a debate before the statue was even cast.

As a compromise, Busch asked that the figure be made in bronze instead of white marble, and then given a dark patina to tone down the effect.

That dark finish is still on her today, more than a century later.

The reservoir wall looks like it belongs in an Italian garden

The retaining wall that holds the reservoir was designed by architect Guy Study, and he modeled it after the garden walls of classic Italian villas.

It has a grand staircase, two fountain basins, and a massive sculpted head set into the west wall by architects Roth and Study. Two bronze tablets near the west wall lay out the reservoir’s full history.

The balustrades and basins went in during the early 20th century, and the whole wall still reads like something you’d find in Tuscany, not south St. Louis.

The park itself is quieter than you’d expect for a city this size

Walking paths loop through the 36 acres, and most mornings you’ll have long stretches to yourself.

There’s a lily pond, a decorative fountain, a playground and a basketball court for the neighborhood families who use this park like a backyard.

The Water Tower Dog Park runs along one edge, managed by a nonprofit. Free parking lines Russell Boulevard and Compton Hill Place.

The gates open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m., every day of the week.

The mansions just outside the park are worth the slow drive

The Compton Heights neighborhood surrounding the park is a national historic district. Surveyor Julius Pitzman laid it out in 1889 with gently curving streets that still give the area its unhurried feel.

More than 200 large houses line those streets, most of them built by wealthy German-American families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Wide setbacks, old trees and stained glass details show up block after block. Walk through it after you climb the tower and the afternoon is gone before you notice.

Visit Compton Hill Reservoir Park in St. Louis

You’ll find the park at 1700 S. Grand Blvd. in south St. Louis. It’s open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and parking along Russell Boulevard is free.

Tower climbs happen on the first Saturday of each month and on full moon evenings, both from April through November, starting at 5:30 p.m. A small fee covers the climb and supports preservation.

Check the Water Tower Foundation’s official website before you go to confirm the schedule and any changes to admission.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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