The Hamburg water tower was originally designed by William Black in 1910. The brick vaulted base of the tower was reused from a 1863 structure. After its decommission in 1930, it was converted to a planetarium. For some time tower reportedly stood unused until 2007 when it was converted to a hotel for Mövenpick. The hotel preserved the tower’s concrete core and exterior brick facades. It has 226 rooms, a conference center for 180 people, bar, sauna, fitness center, and restaurant.
Local residents strongly protested the conversion to hotel, arguing that the public structure should remain public.
(papist– flickr/creative commons license)
(Lindspetrol– flickr/creative commons license)
(woozie2010– flickr/creative commons license)
(featured images by fleno.de on flickr/creative commons)
