While many towns in the middle of the country have water towers, St. Louis’s 3 water towers are extremely elaborate and very old. The most famous water tower of the 3 is the Compton Hill Water Tower located on… Compton Hill. The tower is open for tours one Sunday a month. However, I was able to go up the tower on a special tour through the Fucking Bike Club, also known as the FBC. The bike club meets once a month at 11pm during the full moon and goes for a bike ride to a mystery location. This particular bike ride, the April 2011 ride, was themed as April-ween and had over 300 riders. Thus, due to the small size of the water tower, we spent over 2 hours waiting for everyone to make it to the top.
The view at the top is pretty incredible especially at night. From the top, you can see downtown all the way to Clayton. These water towers are unique to St. Louis and are an important part of its history. Certainly worth taking a look at, especially if you drive a lot on Grand Ave, because all 3 are there.