Historic Photos

Photo of the Week, 44: Timberrr!

December 6th, 2013

On November 21, 1951, workmen brought down the New York Central Railroad water tower located at the South Main Street overpass in the warehouse district just south of downtown Bloomington. Don't worry—the fellow scurrying to safety in this action photo was unharmed when the tower crashed to the ground! Although the water tower was only seven years old, the coming of diesel locomotives made such towers obsolete. This was the final water tower to come down on the NYC's Indianapolis-to-Pekin route.

Torii Moré

Curator of Digital Humanities