St. Louis, MO: 1915 World's Largest Filtration Plant When Built

(Satellite)

Missouri's Historic Highways posted three images with the comment:

Route 66 St. Louis Style Post #162

Mark Twain once described the drinking water in St. Louis as “too thick to drink and too thin to plow.” Those days ended when city water division chemist John Wixford pioneered a purification process using lime just in time to ensure clean water for the fountains at the 1904 World’s Fair. The new filtration plant built here in 1915 was the largest in the world at the time and the grounds were beautifully landscaped, which made the Chain of Rocks a popular recreation area.

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It has greatly expanded since 1915. Does the water flow through the filters fast enough that they don't have to worry about it freezing duing a cold Winter night?

Satellite

I've collected several photos of the water intake cribs because they are close to the Chain of Rocks Bridge.

3D Satellite

This is a closeup of the upstream tower. These are water intake towers for a filtration plant. The sources conflict on weather or not they are still in service. These intakes are similar to Chicago's water cribs.

Bryan Couch posted two photos with the comment: "Old Water Pump Station @ the Chain of Rocks."

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Bryan Couch commented on his post
Since 1915 that tower has been there and this one since 1890..Second used as backup for #1 Pump

Missouri'es Historic Highways posted four images with the comment: "Route 66 St. Louis Style Post #161   The two structures resembling castles in the river below the Chain of Rocks Bridge served as intake towers for the St. Louis Waterworks. Tower Number One was designed by William S. Eames and constructed in 1894. A second tower, patterned after a Roman villa and shown in this photo, was completed in 1915. A dike once ran out to the towers, but was submerged when a low water dam was constructed in the 1960s. (Steamboat photo: St. Louis Public Library) "

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John Kavanaugh commented on the above post

Forgotten Railways, Roads, and Places posted

William A. Shaffer posted
[The water filtration plant is in the background.]