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All the United States Minnesota Rochester Corn Water Tower

Corn Water Tower

This water tower has been a staple of the Rochester skyline since 1931.

Rochester, Minnesota

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nickaarsvold
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Water tower with cannery in background   uff-da/CC BY 2.0
Water Tower Illuminated at night   Ben Stephenson/CC BY 2.0
Image of the water tower circa 1980’s   John Margolies/Public Domain
  katerayne / Atlas Obscura User
Stormy weather   sparklecloud99 / Atlas Obscura User
  Kristen / Atlas Obscura User
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Built in 1931, this corny construction was originally built to provide water to the Reid, Murdoch and Co. cannery, which opened in 1929. Although the cannery it served is now closed, this Rochester, Minnesota landmark remains as a reminder to locals and visitors of the Med City's agricultural past.

The tower stands at 151 feet tall with a 60-foot tank. It was designed by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., a company that has created 15 water tanks which are on the National Register of Historic Places. Illuminated by 10 spotlights at night, the corn-shaped water tower has been a sight off of U.S. Highway 14 for people passing by since its construction. From the 1930's until the 1960's, the water tower was used by the Army Air Corps and Air Force to find a nearby airfield.

The 50,000-gallon water tower and cannery has changed hands several times, being purchased by Libby Foods in 1948 and Seneca Foods in 1982. Seneca operated the plant for over 30 years before shutting its doors in 2018. Since the closure of the plant, the water tower has been owned by Olmsted County. Despite not currently being in use, the tower is one of Rochester's most a-maize-ing attractions.

Related Tags

Water Towers Vegetables Food Corn Agriculture Giant Food

Know Before You Go

The water tower is most easily seen from Graham Park, known to locals as The Olmsted County Fairgrounds. It can also be easily seen from U.S. Highway 14.

Community Contributors

Added By

nickaarsvold

Edited By

Kristen, DJ BAHLER, katerayne, sparklecloud99

  • Kristen
  • DJ BAHLER
  • katerayne
  • sparklecloud99

Published

January 8, 2020

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Sources
  • http://www.startribune.com/giant-corncob-is-rochester-s-pride-will-it-be-a-landmark/512002082/?refresh=true
  • https://www.postbulletin.com/opinion/our_view/our-view-end-of-the-line-for-a-piece-of/article_c32dbfbc-7b00-11e8-b0fd-6fa6e83fbbdd.html
  • https://kttc.com/2019/02/15/corn-water-tower-gets-new-life-with-olmsted-county-purchase-from-seneca-foods/
  • https://www.medcitybeat.com/news-blog/2019/seneca-offers-to-gift-corn-water-tower
  • https://www.medcitybeat.com/news-blog/2018/corn-tower-historic-preservation-commission
  • https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/lens-on-history-giant-ear-of-corn/article_3d2830ff-4a0a-51db-9857-ae9c64b8299c.html
Corn Water Tower
1300 Fairgrounds Ave SE
Rochester, Minnesota, 55904
United States
44.005437, -92.460164
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