Riverside Water Tower

Bulley & Andrews was honored to serve as general contractor for the restoration of Riverside’s historic water tower.

Built in 1871 and designed by renowned engineer/architect William Le Baron Jenney, the water tower is one of the last remaining structures of its kind in the Chicagoland area.  While the tower no longer functions as a water storage facility, it is still used today as a home to the Riverside Historic Museum.

The tower underwent an “adaptive reuse” as the village’s historical museum while maintaining key elements of its Swiss Gothic style interior and exterior design, including restoration of the original metal balcony, which is now used as an observatory.  In addition, a library, archive and meeting room and three main galleries were added to the interior.  A free-standing elevator shaft was erected in the center of the tower, allowing access to all three levels.

Exterior restoration included renovations to areas surrounding the tower, including landscaping and new lighting elements.