PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2022

The tower’s current structural state is adequate, said Bucy. But the tank was drained in 2012 because of stability worries. A modern, 300,000-gallon tower stands elsewhere in town.

Mayor Brenda Stadsholt, left, Brenda Davenport Fornoff, the city economic development coordinator, and Rick Noble, a local artist and former city employee, stand near the Havana water tower

Engineers have told the city that full tower restoration, including tuckpointing, would cost about $1.25 million. “It’s something that we can’t just fork out and do,” said Bucy. LANDMARKS ILLINOIS LISTED THE TOWER AMONG THE STATE’S MOST ENDANGERED HISTORIC PLACES IN 2021. Landmarks Illinois listed the tower among the state’s most endangered historic places in 2021. The organization also awarded the city a $2,500 grant, which was used to repair retaining walls surrounding the tower property. Green Valley-based artist Luke Kinzler painted a mural on them. No active fundraising is taking place, said city officials, but the tower does attract plenty of non-monetary interest inside and outside Havana. National Register placement has helped lure tourists from as far as Australia. Passenger riverboats that dock regularly at Havana also provide a source of interest. Stadsholt said it’s common to see visitors photographing themselves in front of the tower. The locals have noticed, evidently. “Even when it gets slightly mentioned that something might happen to the water tower…theydonotwant anything to happen,” Davenport-Fornoff said. The tower f its with municipal attempts to brand Havana as a regional destination for art, music and history.

Themayormight see farther than that.

To that end, the first phase of a multi year downtown revitalization program was completed in 2020. “One more piece of the puzzle,” Dav enport-Fornoff said about the old tower. It’s possible the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act approved last year might be a source of funding for future tower work, per Landmarks Illinois. Restoration could include the inner, staggered staircase that leads to the top of the bricks. Stadsholt and Noble climbed the staircase years ago, when it was safer. Noble said he could see as far as Dickson Mounds State Museum, about seven miles away.

“The view is unbelievable. … If we could get a grant and really make that a tourist attraction, then I guess we could say it was similar to the Eiffel Tower. Serve champagne or something,” Stadsholt said with a laugh. IT'S A POINT OF PRIDE … AN 86-FOOT-TALL POINT OF PRIDE FOR HAVANA RESIDENTS

Nick Vlahos is a longtime Peoria print journalist and regular contributor to Peoria Magazine

OCTOBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 65