Pump Houses

Flew out to the pump houses from the Illinois side today during my lunch break and didn\'t have a lot of time and makes me nervous still to fly out a half a mile over the Mississippi. The old Chain of Rocks bridge closed in 1968 and I remember driving with my dad many times across it. The Chain of Rocks is a low level dam and why there is the Chain of rocks Canal where the boat at the end of the video is at. Supertramp for the music today from Crisis what Crisis released in September 1975.\n\nWater Intake Tower #1 is an oval shaped stone structure, Romanesque in style and identifiable by a green conical shaped roof. It was built in 1894 and designed by William S. Eames. Today it is still in use by the St. Louis Water Works and draws water into a seven foot diameter pipe which then takes it to the Chain of Rocks Plant. It has been designated as a St. Louis City Landmark. \n\nWater Intake Tower #2 was built in 1915 and is also designated as a St. Louis City Landmark. The tower was designed by Roth & Study, who styled it after a Roman villa. It is unique in that it contained living quarters for the workmen who were on duty around the clock to man the gates and control the amount of water that was drawn from the Mississippi and sent to the Chain of Rocks Plant. Today this job is done electronically, thus the tower stands vacant. It is also still in use today by the St. Louis Water Works.