Parsons Boulevard and 18th Avenue, 1927.

A standpipe was a popular form of a water tower from about 1860 until 1900. The small diameter and tall height of these towers made them ideal for maintaining water pressure, though their limited capacity meant they could only be utilized for small populations in areas of flat terrain.

The aesthetic design of these plain metal cylinders was often criticized, that, according to an 1892 issue of Engineering News, the towers were sometimes disguised by a masonry tower or monument. The paper reported 282 standpipes in the United States in 1888, though at least 28 collapsed between 1868 and 1894 due to design flaws or severe weather. This style of the tower fell out of fashion by 1900 to make way for the more efficient, cheaper water tanks elevated on steel trusses.