Advanced Search Fewer Search Options

Topics

African Americans
Agriculture
Architecture
Arts
Business and Industry
Cities and Towns
Crime and Punishment
Education
Environment
Health and Medicine
Immigration
Labor
Native Americans
Politics
Religion and Belief
Science and Technology
Sports and Recreation
Transportation
War and Conflict
Women

Category

Event
Group
Person
Place
Structure
Thing

Era

Before European Contact: Pre-1585
Civil War and Reconstruction: 1850-1877
Colonization: 1585-1763
Development of Industrial United States: 1870-1920
Expansion and Reform: 1792-1861
Great Depression and World War II: 1920-1945
Post-World War II United States: 1945-1989
Revolution and a New Nation: 1754-1800
United States in a New Global Age: 1980-Present
banner_logo
MNHS
MNopedia
Index

Prospect Park Water Tower, Minneapolis

Prospect Park Water Tower, Minneapolis

Creator:
Contributor: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Source: Minnesota History 60, no. 4 (Winter 2006-07): 131
Prospect Park Water Tower, Minneapolis
Prospect Park Water Tower, 55 Malcolm Avenue SE, Minneapolis, April 3, 2016. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user McGhiever. CC BY-SA 4.0

Useful structures do not always have to look utilitarian. Case in point: the Prospect Park Water Tower. Familiarly known as "The Witch's Hat," it has become the neighborhood's architectural mascot not for its function but for its singularity. More than once over the years it has also galvanized neighborhood pride and determination on its own behalf.

Erected in 1913 on Tower Hill, one of the highest elevations in Minneapolis, the tower was built to increase water pressure in the area and thereby enhance firefighting efforts. The functional structure, however, was given a whimsical appearance by city engineer Frederick William Cappelen. To the delight of generations of Minnesotans to come, he topped the building with a fanciful brimmed "hat" of green ceramic tile, and hence its nickname was born.

The Witch's Hat and the Prospect Park neighborhood have enjoyed a love affair of sorts over the years. From the beginning, the tower and surrounding parkland attracted neighbors, young and old, who picnicked under shade trees in summer and sledded down the hill's icy slopes in winter. The tower's observation deck provided spectacular views of the Minneapolis and St. Paul skylines, and the building itself inspired many artists who captured its one-of-a-kind profile in charcoal and watercolor.

The Witch's Hat ceased to function as a water tower in 1952, but it remained an esteemed neighborhood symbol, worthy of defense. In 1955 when the city announced plans to demolish the tower following a lightning strike, the community mobilized. "Spurred on by eleven members of the Prospect Park Blue Birds (a junior organization of the Campfire Girls)," neighbors fought city hall and saved their tower.

Since the late twentieth century, the observation deck is open only one day a year, which is celebrated with an ice-cream social. The rest of the time, The Witch's Hat quietly communes with the dog walkers, strolling lovers, and frolicking children who come to visit, just like any other resident of the neighborhood.
Cite
Hession, Jane. "Prospect Park Water Tower, Minneapolis." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/structure/prospect-park-water-tower-minneapolis
Correct
Print This Page
© Minnesota Historical Society  80x15  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
First Published: November 30, 2011
Last Modified: April 10, 2025

Bibliography

Curran, Christine A., and Charlene K. Roise. "Prospect Park Water Tower and Tower Hill Park." National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 1997. State Historic Preservation Office, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Prospect Park History Committee. Under the Witch's Hat: A Prospect Park East River Road History. Minneapolis: Prospect Park East River Road Improvement Association, 2003.

Related Resources

Primary

" 'Save the Witch's Hat!': Blue Birds in a 'Towering' Rage." Minneapolis Star, October 10, 1955.

Secondary

Gibas, Allen H. "The History of Prospect Park." Unpublished manuscript, 1965. Typewritten.

Nord, Mary Ann. The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota: A Guide. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2003.

Rich, Frida, and Lael Berman. Landmarks, Old and New: Minneapolis and St. Paul and Surrounding Areas, A Collection of Drawings. Minneapolis: Nodin Press, 1988.

Wick, Ann. "Prospect Park: One-of-a-Kind Neighborhood." Hennepin County History 32, no. 2 (Spring 1973): 3–13.

Web

The City of Minneapolis's Heritage Preservation Commission. Prospect Park Water Tower.
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/hpc/landmarks/hpc_landmarks_malcolm_ave_se_55_prospect_park_water_tower

The Minnesota Historical Society's National Register Properties. Prospect Park Water Tower and Tower Hill Park.
http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRDetails.cfm?NPSNum=97001426

The Placeography. Prospect Park Water Tower.
http://www.placeography.org/index.php/Prospect_Park_Water_Tower,_55_Malcolm_Avenue_Southeast,_Minneapolis,_Minnesota

Related Images

Prospect Park Water Tower, Minneapolis
Prospect Park Water Tower, 55 Malcolm Avenue SE, Minneapolis, April 3, 2016. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user McGhiever. CC BY-SA 4.0
Prospect Park water tower, Minneapolis
Prospect Park Water Tower, Minneapolis, 1914–1915. Photographer: Charles J. Hibbard.
Prospect Park tower
Prospect Park Water Tower, 1937. Photographer: .
Skyline from Prospect Park Tower
Skyline from Prospect Park Tower looking over University Avenue to elevator district, Minneapolis, c.1925. Photographer: Charles P. Gibson.
Prospect Park Water Tower, Minneapolis

Prospect Park Water Tower

Prospect Park Water Tower, 55 Malcolm Avenue SE, Minneapolis, April 3, 2016. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user McGhiever. CC BY-SA 4.0

Holding Location

Wikimedia Commons

Articles

More Information

Prospect Park water tower, Minneapolis

Prospect Park water tower, Minneapolis

Prospect Park Water Tower, Minneapolis, 1914–1915. Photographer: Charles J. Hibbard.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

More Information

Prospect Park tower

Prospect Park tower

Prospect Park Water Tower, 1937. Photographer: .
© Minneapolis Star Tribune Journal    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

More Information

Skyline from Prospect Park Tower

Skyline from Prospect Park Tower

Skyline from Prospect Park Tower looking over University Avenue to elevator district, Minneapolis, c.1925. Photographer: Charles P. Gibson.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

More Information

Related Articles

Three Thousand Years of Building in Minnesota

Turning Point

In 1955, neighborhood groups fight successfully to save this popular Prospect Park landmark from demolition, preserving it for future generations.

Chronology

1913
The Prospect Park Water Tower, designed by city engineer Frederick William Cappelen, is built on Tower Hill, Minneapolis, to enhance water pressure for local firefighting efforts.
1952
Due to technological advancements, the tower is no longer needed as a functioning water tower and is decommissioned.
1955
Threatened with demolition after a lightning strike, the Prospect Park Water Tower is saved as a neighborhood landmark by the action of local citizen groups.
1984
The Prospect Park Water Tower is officially designated as a local landmark by the City of Minneapolis.
1986
The tower undergoes significant renovation to better preserve it.
1997
The Prospect Park Water Tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bibliography

Curran, Christine A., and Charlene K. Roise. "Prospect Park Water Tower and Tower Hill Park." National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 1997. State Historic Preservation Office, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Prospect Park History Committee. Under the Witch's Hat: A Prospect Park East River Road History. Minneapolis: Prospect Park East River Road Improvement Association, 2003.

Related Resources

Primary

" 'Save the Witch's Hat!': Blue Birds in a 'Towering' Rage." Minneapolis Star, October 10, 1955.

Secondary

Gibas, Allen H. "The History of Prospect Park." Unpublished manuscript, 1965. Typewritten.

Nord, Mary Ann. The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota: A Guide. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2003.

Rich, Frida, and Lael Berman. Landmarks, Old and New: Minneapolis and St. Paul and Surrounding Areas, A Collection of Drawings. Minneapolis: Nodin Press, 1988.

Wick, Ann. "Prospect Park: One-of-a-Kind Neighborhood." Hennepin County History 32, no. 2 (Spring 1973): 3–13.

Web

The City of Minneapolis's Heritage Preservation Commission. Prospect Park Water Tower.
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/hpc/landmarks/hpc_landmarks_malcolm_ave_se_55_prospect_park_water_tower

The Minnesota Historical Society's National Register Properties. Prospect Park Water Tower and Tower Hill Park.
http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRDetails.cfm?NPSNum=97001426

The Placeography. Prospect Park Water Tower.
http://www.placeography.org/index.php/Prospect_Park_Water_Tower,_55_Malcolm_Avenue_Southeast,_Minneapolis,_Minnesota