Whither now, historic water tower?

Published 7:00 pm Saturday, August 20, 2005

One idea: right in the middle of a new roundabout at Madison/Wyatt.

Are we nearing the crossroad of island history, or is island history nearly in our crossroad?

Perhaps both.

The city’s Historic Preservation Commission hopes to move a 93-year-old landmark into the center of a busy Winslow intersection, putting a piece of the island’s past front and center in a rapidly changing downtown.

But the three-story water tower, once a part of the Hoskinson farmhouse at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Wyatt Way, wouldn’t block traffic; it would actually calm it, said city public works engineer Lorenz Eber.

“It could be a historic centerpiece to a future roundabout,” Eber said. “And, in technical terms, it looks feasible.”

While plans are preliminary, the commission would like to move the wood-shingled structure from its corner lot to a roundabout that may be built at the intersection as early as next summer.

The project poses a “unique opportunity to advance the cause of historic preservation with the high-profile placement” of the water tower, commission member Anne Gendreau said.

“The importance of farming and an agrarian community is an ongoing topic of discussion and debate on Bainbridge Island, as growth and development threaten to make such lifestyles extinct,” Gendreau said. “The Hoskinson water tower is a symbol of Winslow’s farming origins, as well as a reminder of the continued importance of local farms today.”

The tower was built on the land of one of Winslow’s earliest settlers, Riley M. Hoskinson, who came to the island from Illinois in 1878 after serving in the Civil War.

Water towers were an integral part of farming in the late 19th century, with numerous historic photographs depicting them in settlements all over the island.

Falling out of use with the improvements in utilities and plumbing, the Hoskinson tower is one of three or four left of its kind in the county, according to commission staffer Stephanie Warren.

“It would be a great piece of history to preserve, especially because we’d be keeping it so close to where it originally was,” Warren said.

The 113-year-old Hoskinson house itself was demolished last month to make way for a commercial and residential development. The property’s previous owner got no takers on an offer to give away the home for free to anyone willing to haul it away.

The house is only the most recent of many historic structures pummeled, paved over or pushed aside to make way for the island’s growing population, according to commission member Sandy Burke.

But the tower won’t meet the same fate as the house, pledged the property’s current owner, Jon Thompson.

“I think moving the tower into the roundabout is a fabulous idea,” he said. “I want the historical society or the commission to have it, but if they can’t take it, I have a number of individuals who want it for their private homes.”

The commission plans to present the tower relocation project to the City Council in the fall. In the meantime, the commission is looking for funding sources that would cover the estimated $35,000 move.

With an $8,150 annual budget, the commission “certainly doesn’t have money laying around” to cover the project’s costs without grants or other additional funding sources, Warren said.

Eber says other questions will have to be worked out, including who will own and maintain the building. He also said the structure’s windows, which were added many years after it was built, would probably have to be covered to dissuade vandalism and visitors.

“The tower would be something just to look at because we certainly don’t want pedestrians crossing into the roundabout, because that would be dangerous,” he said.

Eber, who championed the island’s first roundabout at the intersection of Madison and High School Road, strongly recommended a roundabout at Madison and Wyatt as a cheaper and safer alternative to traffic lights.

He said the tall, prominent structure could also serve a functional design purpose by partially obstructing drivers’ lines of sight.

“Blocking the view straight through the roundabout is actually an important feature of a well-designed roundabout,” he said. “That’s why we have the high landscaping at the High School Road roundabout. We want people looking to their left and right, not ahead.”

Eber has seen roundabouts all over Europe that feature high-standing icons of local significance.

In France he has seen grapevine statues in a roundabout, while an Aegean village in Greece featured a leaping dolphin in one.

“It can make a nice entry into a town and show off something that makes that place special,” he said.