The tower and surrounding Tower Hill Park joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Taken Aug 14, 2024. PHOTO BY HENRY STAFFORD
Community members discussed their beloved tower and park at a PPA meeting on Aug 12, 2024. PHOTO BY HENRY STAFFORD
Frederick William Cappelen designed the tower. The tower’s roof has become iconic for its distinct appearance. PHOTO BY HENRY STAFFORD
Graffiti on the base of the tower. The plaque tells the tale of the tower’s past. PHOTO BY HENRY STAFFORD
John Wike, 64, resident of Prospect Park, Aug 12, 2024. PHOTO BY HENRY STAFFORD
Joe Ring, 78, chair of the PPA Tower Hill committee at a meeting on Aug 12, 2024. PHOTO BY HENRY STAFFORD
Overgrowth on one of the trails leading to the base of the tower. PHOTO BY HENRY STAFFORD
The tower watches over its neighborhood and the Prospect Park light rail station. PHOTO BY HENRY STAFFORD
Prospect Park neighborhood still fighting for their tower
Prospect Park neighborhood still fighting for their tower
The tower remains closed five years after stairs were damaged despite a $350,000 allocation from the city and a draft agreement to manage the site
By Henry Stafford / The Hubbard School
The Prospect Park Water Tower, affectionately known as the Witch’s Hat because of its distinctive pitched tiled roof, has long been a testament to the neighborhood’s collaboration and grit.
When the community envisioned the tower more than a century ago, residents divided the cost among themselves and agreed to pay taxes to fund the city’s construction of the distinctive tower with an observation deck.
In 1955, after a lightning strike damaged its roof, the neighborhood petitioned to save the tower from the city’s plans to demolish it, which led to a repair with tiles specially ordered from Italy.
And in 2019, when a condominium project threatened to block the landmark’s iconic 360-degree view of the Twin Cities, some residents sued. The developer ultimately dropped the project.
Now Prospect Park residents say they are facing another challenge with the tower. The popular destination has been closed since 2019 after stairs were damaged. Although the city of Minneapolis approved funds to repair it, progress on how to manage the tower’s upkeep has been slowed by concerns about how to staff the public’s safe access to it.
The tower itself is owned by the city of Minneapolis but sits on land managed by the independently-governed Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
In December, the Minneapolis City Council approved $350,000 for one-time repairs to the tower. The city is in the process of soliciting bids for repairs, with work expected to start and continue through the fall, Barbara O’Brien, the city’s director of property services, said in an email.
But less clear is how the tower and park will be managed for access and events. Residents are waiting for a newly drafted agreement to give them a special role in working with those two entities to ensure the tower remains a viable community asset, Joe Ring, 78, a Prospect Park resident and chair of the Prospect Park Association (PPA) Tower Hill Committee, said.
That special role makes sense for the PPA because the neighborhood has always taken pride in the tower, which will degrade if it’s not cared for by those who live near it, Ring said. He and others said they are concerned about the overgrowth of vegetation blocking the views from the tower base.
“You see visitors there. They come from downtown. They take the light rail because they can see the tower,” Ring said, remarking on the unkempt look of the park. “I'll be blunt, you know, is this the image we want to project?”
An interconnected destiny
The tower has not pumped water to residents since 1952. In 1997, both the tower and the city-managed park around it were added to the National Register of Historic Places for engineering and architectural significance and history of community development. Ever since, the city and the park have had an “interconnected” destiny, Ring said.
“It's written that if the park loses its historic merit, then the historic designation for the tower is gone,” Ring said.
But managing that interconnectedness is sometimes challenging, he said.
The current impasse around the tower began in 2019, when the metal steps inside the tower broke at the annual Doors Open event — a time for the public to scale the 110-foot tower and view its 360-degree vista on what is regarded as the tallest point in the Twin Cities, a source of pride for the community.
The tower’s view has been a popular destination for the public since it was opened. In 2014, during its 100th birthday celebration, the line to climb the tower stretched for blocks, Ring said.
The view from the tower is something entirely unique to Prospect Park, said John Wike, 64, a resident of Prospect Park who said his wife grew up in a home with a view of the tower. The tower was designed by Frederick William Cappelen, who also designed the Franklin Avenue Bridge and another water tower in the city, the Kenwood Park Water Tower.
“It's a perspective that you would never see from anywhere else,” Wike said. “There's no other buildings around where you could get quite that view. And it's fun to look out at your neighborhood.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Doors Open event was postponed until 2023. Ring said the city contacted the PPA in early 2023 to see if the neighborhood could staff the tower for the May event, even though no one could climb the tower because the stairs were still damaged.
Ring said at the time the PPA was surprised.
“We’re going, wait a minute,” Ring said, noting that he asked the city how the PPA was going to staff the event with the tower in its current condition. He told them: “You haven’t fixed it.”
A chance at repairs
Plans were already in the works to fix the tower and create clearer collaboration among the city, the Park Board and the neighborhood around tower events and maintenance. Shortly after assuming office in January 2022, Ward 2 City Council Member Robin Wonsley brokered an agreement with the city and the Park Board.
The agreement gave authority for events to the Park Board and stipulated the board and the city would meet annually with the PPA to discuss upkeep of the tower and park, Ring said. In mid-August, the PPA expressed frustration that the Park Board had not returned several emails asking about the status of the draft agreement.
But the agreement has still not been signed.
Robin Smothers, a spokesperson for the Park Board, told the Hubbard Reporting Experience in an email, that the Board has not signed the draft agreement because of concerns about resources.
Under the agreement, Smothers said, “the Park Board would be responsible for all permitting and staffing for events at the Tower. However, without funding to support required staff time, the Park Board cannot reasonably accommodate the terms” of the agreement.
Wonsley’s office did not return phone calls.
The light is always on
Ring and other residents of Prospect Park expressed frustration at the situation. They say they are deeply connected to the tower and eager to see it open again. Steve Brackett, a resident of the neighborhood and owner of a local carpentry business, said he appreciates the nature surrounding the tower and its architecture.
“I think about the park that surrounds us as having not only a lot of history, but a lot of the ability to maybe be a place and a thing that citizens of your neighborhood can really come together and opt for,” Brackett said.
Ring said he keeps fighting for access to the tower for many people, some of whom are no longer alive but for whom the tower was important.
“Sadly, they're all gone, no longer here, and I wish they were. When I talk about them I get tears in my eyes,” Ring said. “I do it for them. I do it for my wife. I do it for my family.”
Ring said there used to be a light in the tower’s observation deck. The light would come on each night and acted as a beacon of identity for the Prospect Park community.
“The motto was in Prospect Park the light is always on and everyone's welcome,” Ring said. “That's the motto. That's what the light says. We're here. Our community is open for anybody.”
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