Written on foot, in one city

The Water Tower is an independent guide to Ypsilanti, Michigan — its landmarks, its brick, the cars it built and the river it was built on.

The site takes its name from the standpipe on the hill, because that is what people navigate by. It is organised the way the city is: five sections, five walks, one river running through the middle of all of them.

What we do

We describe real structures, streets and collections as they are, in plain language, and we say what a thing was built to do before we say what it means. Every guide is written from the ground rather than from a brochure.

What we don't do

We do not publish opening times, prices, admission details or event listings, and we do not speak for any institution. Where we do not know a figure — a height, a dimension, an attribution — we describe the thing instead of asserting a number. A missing figure here is a deliberate omission, not an oversight.

How it is paid for

A small number of local partners support the site. None of them sees a guide before it goes up, and none has any say in what we cover or how. Nothing here is written to order.

Corrections are welcome and get made quickly. If we have described something you know better than we do, tell us — see Contact.