The 143 stairs of the Humboldt Water Tours leads visitors to a 360 view of Humboldt and the surrounding prairies. (Facebook/Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery)

By Becky Zimmer

Topping the Prairies

Water Tower fun day and tours offer unique Prairie view in Humboldt

Aug 11, 2021 | 5:00 PM

The Humboldt Water Tower will be celebrating summer with their upcoming Fun Day.

Everyone has been invited to the Humboldt tourist attraction on Aug. 14 to enjoy free, water-based games and take the water tower tour which will guides visitors to the very top of the landmark.

Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery director, Jennifer Fitzpatrick, said it is also the perfect place for a Saturday picnic with visitors encouraged to have lunch on the beautiful lawn surrounding the 106-year-old, 80 feet high tower.

Back before more modern water systems were developed in the city, the tower, which was fed by both Humboldt Lake and Burton Lake at different points of history, provided water to the entire community.

This is an important part of our history, said Fitzpatrick, which is why water is playing an important role on Saturday.

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“It really demonstrates the heritage of the community. It demonstrates the need for water and the importance of water and some of the challenges that the Humboldt area had in securing a water source,” Fitzpatrick told northeastNOW.

This important Humboldt attraction is one of the few water towers designed by the Chipman and Power engineering firm left in the province, including ones that are still standing in Weyburn and Kerrobert. During the heyday of water tower usage in the province, there was once eleven that dotted the prairies, according to the Humboldt Water Tower website.

The tower continues to be an important part of the Humboldt skyline thanks to the work of many volunteers.

Work to restore the structure began in the mid-to-late 90s, including getting the city on board to support the restoration. In 2015, the hard work of the volunteers came to fruition when the city celebrated the 100th anniversary of the tower and opened it to the public.

As far as Fitzpatrick is aware, they are the first to redesign the space so that it is open to the public as a useable tourist attraction and it took a lot of work to get there.

“Anytime you can rehabilitate a heritage building into a new use or contemporary use, that is really an advantage because obviously a contemporary use, you know, brings it into the community’s everyday life,” Fitzpatrick said.

Visitors can climb the 143 steps to the top of a walkway that overlooks the city and a 360 degree view of the Saskatchewan prairies beyond the city limits.

(Submitted photo/City of Humboldt Cultural Services)

The museum continues to fundraise for the water tower which will now need maintenance work from time to time with each step going up the water tower for sale. Names of donors already adorn several of the steps lining the inside of the tower but more are available, said Fitzpatrick.

Guided tours of the water tower are also back this summer with tours happening every 30 minutes on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. The last day for tours this year is on Aug. 28.

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becky.zimmer@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @bex_zim