Description of the attraction
The main attraction of the city of Zhitomir, as well as its visiting card, is the water tower, which is located on Pushkinskaya street, 24.
The tower on Petrovskaya Gora was erected and put into operation in November 1898, together with the laying of the first water pipeline in the city. The construction project was developed by Zhytomyr architects M. A. Librovich and A. K. Ensh.
The shape of the water tower resembles an elongated octagon. It was built of bricks and has a total height of 31 m. At its top (at a height of 20 m), in a superstructure reinforced with characteristic four corner and six intermediate buttresses, two metal water tanks with a capacity of 100 cubic meters were installed. m of water. The structure is crowned with a domed roof, in which there was a small room for a fire observer. At that time, the water tower simultaneously performed three important functions for the city: the first was a water accumulator, the second was a water pressure regulator, and the third was a fire tower.
During construction, the water tower deviated slightly from its axis, so the locals often called it "the Leaning Tower". Contractors P. Drzhevetskiy and Ezhioranskiy guaranteed the City Council that the tower would stand for at least 5 years. But the building exquisitely rises above the city to this day.
During the occupation of Zhitomir, the Nazis used the tower as an observation post for air defense. In 1965 the water tower, in connection with the commissioning of the new Vodokanal complex, ceased to perform its main function. After a while, it was thoroughly reconstructed, after which it became a tower-cafe.
In 1996, the Zhytomyr water tower received the status of an architectural monument of local importance.
