Leaning Tower of Niles – Niles, Illinois
Not every community has something as unique to call their YMCA as the town of Niles with the Leaning Tower of Niles. This replica of the original tower was built in 1934 by industrialist Robert Ilg for a water storage unit for public swimming pools and to serve as a recreation park for his employees. It stands half the size of the original which is located in Piza, Italy (Niles Sister City).
Today it is the YMCA. The Y consists of four fountains, a 30 foot pool and a plaque on the site that reads: “This tower is dedicated to all who contribute and strive to make this earth and its unlimited resources, materially and scientifically a better place for mankind.”
Although you probably don’t want to make a special trip to Chicago just to see this you will want to drive by if you are going on Touhy and Caldwell anyway.
Although the original Pisa leans approximately 15 feet off plumb, the Niles is off 7’4″, seems appropriate.
The family of the builder donated the land and the building to the YMCA in the 1960′s to build the facility which stands behind the Tower today. It used to be a parkland but now it has the Y and strip centers so it lost a great deal of its charm.
The Tower is closed to the public and has been for a number of years but you can still see it and take the picture of the Tower to add to your memories of the Chicagoland area.
The Village of Niles restored the Tower and created a surrounding outdoor concert plaza in 1996, erecting a plaque that contrasts the two towers in height, diameter, tilt, construction materials and purpose.
The plaque states “Chicago Replica is a utility tower to store water. Design was selected to honor the outstanding scientist Vicenzo Galileo or Galilei 1564-1642 – astronomer and developer of practical telescopes – professor at University of Pisa in 1589″