The Manassas City Council will vote February 22 on whether or not to keep the water tower that watches over historic Downtown.
The old 75,000-gallon water tower is no longer in use, but it serves not only as the entrance to Downtown, it also garnishes the city with historic and architectural significance.
The stylistic elements of the tower feature an early 20th century American industrial riveted steel tank and craftsmanship. According to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the tower has been found to be in excellent condition.
The tower is now eligible for listing on the State and National Register of Historic Places. With this in mind, a committee was formed to proceed with all necessary steps to get the water tank insured as a historic site.
“We are at the final stages of applying, and it will be decided at about June 16th to have the final full application in. A preliminary application was approved unanimously by the historic resources board so we are very optimistic that this will proceed at a pace,” Council Member Jonathan Way during the January 11 City Council meeting.
The demolition of the now defunct water tower has been on hold since December 2014. It awaits the pending outcome of the appeal and the City Council’s decision on whether or not it should be preserved.
“The Architectural Review Board has denied the City’s (utility department) request to demolish the tower. By law, the appeal of that decision is to the City Council. The Council can either vote to uphold the ARB’s decision in which case the tower is not demolished or overturn the ARB decision in which case the tower is demolished.” said Community Development Director Elizabeth S. Via-Gossman.
The recommendation of the staff report concerning the water tower denies the application for demolition. The recommendation states: “Though the water tower is no longer an efficient means of water storage for the city, the water tower has historic significance to the city as a visible symbol of its development and has been a prominent fixture in the skyline for over a hundred years. In addition, the water tower serves as a landmark in Old Town, having the potential to draw in visitors to the city.”
Further recommendations include exploring options to maintain the tank for “historical purposes in lieu of a water storage facility.”
“The Staff Recommendation (and my recommendation) is that the ARB be upheld and the tower saved for the reasons stated in the staff report,” said Via-Gossman.
