Moment in Time (originally submitted to ThisWeek News for publication September 28, 2005)

A structure that was very common to turn-of-the-century homes in Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff was the water tower. This building provided storage for water that was used in the residence and, because of its height, provided the necessary pressure for adequate usage. The left photo shows the tower in the rear of the Eugene Gray home at 1080 Wyandotte Road as seen looking southeast from the back porch of the house. The structure at the left of the photo was the carriage house and is now a separate home at 1082 Wyandotte. The top right photo was the tower on the property of the Urlin mansion, and the lower right photo was the tower of the John Price residence. Both of these used windmills to pump water from wells or cisterns to the storage at the top of the tower.