The Old Fresno Water Tower, built in 1894, is one of the most handsome structures in the Central Valley — a Romanesque Revival brick tower that would look at home in a European city centre. The architect, who designed it in a style then popular for civic infrastructure, created something considerably more elegant than the city probably expected. The circular brick base, arched windows, and steel tank above give it a silhouette that reads as civic pride rather than utility.
The tower is not open for interior visits but is well worth seeing from the exterior. It stands near the corner of Fresno and O Streets, a short walk from the Meux Home, and is the most photographed structure in downtown Fresno. The surrounding blocks have some other late-Victorian commercial buildings; this part of downtown, away from the 1960s urban renewal that levelled much of the historic fabric, gives the best sense of what early Fresno looked like.