William Boyington
Quick Summary
William Boyington was an American architect known for his work in the Gothic Revival style. He designed the Chicago Water Tower, a limestone structure completed in 1869 that famously survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Boyington also designed the accompanying pumping works building for the city's water supply system, which utilized a tunnel extending into Lake Michigan to draw cleaner water. His designs, while iconic, were sometimes met with criticism, such as Oscar Wilde's description of the Water Tower as a "castellated monstrosity".1
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