It’s time to vote in the #ELGLKnope Round of 32! Read about this matchup, and then submit your vote! One vote per email address, please. We’ll tally the votes and will post the next round of matchups on Tuesday!
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Elsinore Arch, Greater Cincinnati Water Works
Cincinnati, Ohio 45232
- Three words to describe Elsinore Arch, Greater Cincinnati Water Works: Historic, Unique, Hamlet
- Why are you nominating Elsinore Arch, Greater Cincinnati Water Works: Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) proudly nominates Elsinore Arch. Elsinore Arch (also known as Elsinore Tower) is a registered historic structure in Cincinnati, Ohio, listed in the National Register on March 3, 1980.
In 1883, Cincinnati Water Works decided to extend its water supply main tunnel (which had remained incomplete for several years) 185 feet to the line at Gilbert Avenue. This main started at the reservoir in Eden Park. However, to control the flow of water at the base of the steep hill, a valve house was needed. Cincinnati Water Works wanted to enhance the landscape of the park and also wanted a structure that would also serve as a new entrance to the park – so they felt that the valve house needed to have a unique design.
That spring, Cincinnati was host to the Shakespearean Dramatic Festival at Music Hall. The highlight of the festival was the performance of “Hamlet” (featuring Shakespearean actor James Edward Murdoch in the role of Hamlet; popular because Cincinnati was his hometown). The audience was highly impressed with the stage sets, especially the opening scene. This particular stage set was a 65-by-65 foot painting (painted by a local artist named Merry) of Elsinore Castle (aka Kronberg Castle), where the moody Denmark prince walked at night and spoke with the ghost of his father. In the audience that night was Water Works Superintendent A.G. Moore. He was so impressed with the painting of Elsinore Castle, that the next Monday morning, he took a newspaper illustration of the Elsinore stage set to the offices of Samuel Hannaford and Sons (a famous local architectural firm that also designed Cincinnati’s Music Hall and City Hall). Charles B. Hannaford, the son of Samuel, was commissioned to design the valve house in the form of Elsinore Castle. The Elsinore Tower was built later that year. - Anything else to share? The building at Gilbert Avenue and Elsinore Place was constructed in 1883 for Cincinnati Water Works and was inspired by the Elsinore Castle, featured in “Hamlet.” The adjacent building was built with stonework similar to that used in the arch’s construction and was once the home of Cincinnati’s Natural History Museum. Today it is the home to WCPO-TV.
Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
Winthrop, Massachusetts 02152
- Three words to describe Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant Massachusetts Water Resources Authority: Giant, Economical, Sustainable
- Why are you nominating Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant Massachusetts Water Resources Authority: The Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant is an engineering marvel that serves most of eastern Massachusetts. It’s also a great example of municipal collaboration, which isn’t always easy, and some times illegal, in Massachusetts.
- Anything else to share? If you are a government nerd and visiting the Boston area, you are requried to take a tour of Deer Island.