(Facebook/Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Tourist Attraction

Humboldt Water Tower set to undergo large makeover

Jul 7, 2023 | 5:00 PM

The Humboldt Water Tower is set to get a new paint job.

It was built back in 1915 and has become a major tourist attraction for the area despite not being operational for roughly 46 years.

“When we sent our drone up to the top area of the tower, there was a lot of peeling paint up there,” said Jennifer Fitzpatrick, Humboldt’s Cultural Services Director. “So, aesthetically it’s going to make the tower look better, but there is a need to conserve the cedar siding.”

The Water Tower was close to being demolished in the 1990s, however, a group of community volunteers decided to maintain the property to ensure it wouldn’t. In under 20 years, these volunteers repaired it and added a spiral staircase in the interior so people could climb to the top and look over the community.

A staircase was placed inside of the Humboldt Water Tower to allow residents and tourists to use the building as a lookout. (Facebook/Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery)

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The City of Humboldt was given back control of the tower in 2015.

In 2022, over 300 people visited the tourist attraction which was only open to the public for a couple of days during July and August.

“We know as people are coming back from COVID, there’s been a lot of excitement so we’re sure those numbers will go up this summer,” said Fitzpatrick.

The overall cost of the project is still being determined, though the first estimate was $116,000. The Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation has since provided a $45,000 grant for the project with the rest of the funds coming from a reserve set up by the volunteer group.

This reserve contains money that was fundraised over the years and includes admission to visit the tower and its staircase of honour where people can pay $500 to have their names put on one of its 143 steps. As of July 7, only three steps were left unnamed.

The Humboldt and District Museum is also holding different fundraisers to keep money in the reserve, including an art raffle and an Ice Cream Day set for July 15.

Meanwhile, there are only four such Water Towers in all of Saskatchewan.

Fitzpatrick joked that Humboldt is most likely the only one to boast that theirs is a musical instrument. That’s because artist Jen Reimer recorded sounds being bounced off its water tank and composed them into different songs.

While there’s no exact date at this time, Reimer will be back in late August to perform the songs for the community.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow