The City of New Vienna has decided to, with the help of our New Vienna Area Historical Society, submit an application to the Iowa Historical Society for the restoration of our 126 year old stone water tower. The cornerstone was set in 1898 and by August of 1899 its original wooden stave tank was supplying water to the community. Through its useful life until 1983, it saw a second wooden tank placed in 1917, it's present steel tank in the 1940s, and sometime after 1945 a slap dash mortar job using inadequate material, and the stone has now become severely discolored and dingy.

A stone preservation and restoration expert has presented a bid to hot water clean it, remove the old mortar, and re-mortar with a historically correct mortar mix for approximately $76,000. (Another bid is being pursued) According to this expert, the result would be a dramatic improvement; the stone and the mortar joints would look as immaculate as that of the St Boniface Church. He suspects the stone came from the same quarry.

An application for a grant of $50,000 will be submitted by May 1, which will require a match of at least $25,000 from city or private sources. Approximately $4,000 of the total bid of $76,000 is for final landscaping which is an in-kind contribution the city or volunteers can provide, leaving $22,000 of local cash needed. Which leads me to the point of this post.

If those monies come strictly from City coffers, this project may not be completed until next year or even the year after ( if awarded, the grant allows over 2 years to do the work) because of the timing of city budgets. However, if that $22,000, or a significant portion of it, could be raised through private donations, it is possible this Tower makeover could be accomplished by Labor Day this year. A show of local financial support would also be a very positive indicator to submit with our application, improving our chances for selection.

And of course, this would be only the first phase of the restoration. Next up would be window and door replacement, as well as painting of the signature silver and red steel tank. But one step at a time. Please let me know if you or someone you know would be interested in pledging or donating towards the restoration of this structure that is such a symbol of New Vienna's heritage and sense of community. Thank you. Donations can also be sent to New Vienna Area Historical Society, 7396 Columbus St, New Vienna, Iowa 52065