Location75th Street and Holmes RoadCouncil District6 |
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Park DistrictSouthYear Acquired1944 |
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Acres18.64 |
The National Register of Historic Places lists this 19-acre park’s namesake, its tower, on its official register. Used as a real water tower until 1957, it dominates the area with a height of 134 feet. The Kansas City, Mo. Water Department built the tower or standpipe in 1919-1920 to provide water pressure for the surrounding area. George Kessler, landscape architect with the Park Department, and W. C. Goodwin, chief engineer of the Water Department, chose the design together. Made of reinforced concrete, the tower had a capacity of one million gallons.
The city of Kansas City purchased the property for the water tower from Frank Teal Riley, a noted local publisher. While the tower is widely known as the Waldo Water Tower, it is also named the Frank T. Riley Memorial. In 1944, the area north of the water tower was considered by developers for war worker housing. Neighborhood residents presented a petition to request that the area around the tower be made a public park instead.
The name Tower Park became official in 1954, and by mutual agreement between the Water and Park departments, maintenance of the tower was transferred to the Park Department in 1965. It was declared an American Water Landmark by the American Water Works Association in 1975.
For more information, please visit the Tower Homes Association.
Number of Tables: 6
Seating Capacity: 60
Total Capacity: 150
Electricity: Yes
Playground: Yes
Restroom Facilities: Building
Water Hydrants/ Fountain: Yes
Grills: 1
Lights: Yes
Rental Fee (Monday – Friday): $69
Rental Fee (Weekends/ Holiday): $100
This shelter is first-come, first served. There is not a fee and no reservations.
Number of Tables: 2
Seating Capacity: 12
Playground: Yes
Restroom Facilities: Building
Water Hydrants/ Fountain: No
Grills: No
Nearly 200 hundred years after the area’s first fur trading post was settled on the bluffs of the Missouri River, Kansas City is preparing to honor the French pioneer Francois Chouteau who established it, and the Native Americans with whom he traded. Francois Chouteau...
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