STL Grand Avenue scenes: Waterworks Standpipe, "Flying Saucer"

By DAN ROBINSON Editor/Photographer

Thankful to not be in northern Nebraska right now under stormless skies, I made a short trip into downtown to get a few shots of landmarks I haven't yet had a chance to cover. Clouds on the western horizon ended the good direct sunlight early, so I only had a short window for frontlit + blue sky lighting. Weather permitting, I might go back for another afternoon of shooting tomorrow.

This is the Compton Hill water tower (also called a 'standpipe') on Grand Avenue near I-44, part of the old St. Louis Waterworks infrastructure. They were designed to be part of a water pressure regulation system, using the vertical pipe to allow overflow. They were surrounded with the ornate architecture simply for aesthetics, as opposed to a just a huge plain pipe towering over the neighborhoods. This is one of only seven such structures left in the USA, two others are also in St. Louis (I plan to get to those also sometime soon).

click to enlarge: