The World's Tallest Water Sphere

Artist and filmmaker David Kessler, Union High class of 1993, shares more of his fantastic photos and artwork. The image is of a ceramic tile that David painted with acrylics, created in 2002. This image was used for an album cover for a band in Philadelphia where David currently resides.

David’s imagination brings to light one of the cool uses of the WTWS: movie projection. Since the tower is nearly white at this time, the WTWS would serve as a perfect canvas for movie projection artists. Hear one, hear all! This site will enthusiastically promote any movie artwork utilizing Union’s World’s Tallest Water Sphere.

A self-made photo of the WTWS taken circa 1998 was the obvious inspiration for the painting. Five WTWS U.S. first class postage stamps go to the first photographer who recreates David’s photographic images from a recent WTWS excusrion.

David’s material is copyrighted so please do not copy without his permission. He can be reached at www.withoutfurlough.com.

Artist and filmmaker David Kessler, Union High class of 1993, writes to share some of his fantastic photos and artwork. The image is of a ceramic tile that David painted with acrylics, created in 2002. He says,

Admittedly, the World’s Tallest Water Sphere is not always a positive symbol for me. Union was not always very kind to me. In my mind the Watersphere is a symbol of equal parts stoic (yet often misguided) pride and ridiculous irony. At the same time, I hold it’s alien form and majesty in great reverence.

A self-made photo of the WTWS taken circa 1998 was the obvious inspiration for the painting. David asked me not to crop the light post from the photo as it was a compositional element that he liked the most.

Perhaps the relationship of the nearby light post to the gargantuan tower makes a statement of the mundane which is near to us appearing larger than the fantastic which is far from us. Or perhaps the light post serves as a functional and neutral yardstick to the artistic and somewhat malevolent tower which can frighten many people with its imposing and gravity-defying omni-presence. Or perhaps the this author has been to the liquor store recently.

David’s material is copyrighted so please do not copy without his permission. He can be reached at www.withoutfurlough.com. More of his creations will be featured in future WTWS articles.

Here’s a man you cannot help but admire.

Paulo writes that his girlfriend is a proud Union County native, they have visited Kawameeh Park near the World’s Tallest Water Sphere, and they have some of the most stunning and beautiful photos of the WTWS on their Flikr site. Paulo says,

“I remember reading with much amusement your original “world’s
tallest water sphere” page the first time I went to visit Union, so I
welcome worldstallestwatersphere.com with great joy.”

We hope to archive some of the beautiful photos, so they will never be lost to the world.

Update (2006-07-20): Note closely the swirling clouds around the top of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere. This rare photo captures the tower in an angry, seathing, smoking, fume.

Here is a brief followup to our recent posting on our fan pop band The Characters. Note that their records are released on the prestigious Union Records label. If you look closely you will see that the Union Records logo contains a graphic image of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere shrouded by a celestial fantasm of stars suggesting its magical and heavenly beauty to all.

Recently we asked for contributions to the site, and you responded.

This site recently received an email contribution from Danny Solazzi of the New Jersey band The Characters. The band has been around since the early 80’s, they play rock with a retro sound, and they have appeared with luminary stars such as Ringo Starr, Joan Jett, the Monkees, and more.

What’s best is Danny says, “in the liner notes for the cd we wrote: ‘Visit Union New Jersey home of The World’s Tallest Water Sphere.'” We recommend you visit their site, see their shows, and buy their albums. Union at its finest!

Attendance to the “World’s Tallest Water Sphere” museum in Austin, Texas has been low recently. Please come and see the exhibit if you are in town. Admission is free of charge. We only have one exhibit at the moment, but we hope to expand.

Additionally, if you have photos or stories of the WTWS, we are glad to share with others. Please be patient as we hope to post more articles soon.

More cassette tape artwork from Union artist David Wuethrich, UHS class of 1980. The artwork is undated but probably from 1989 the year of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

This wonderful piece shows the Union World’s Tallest Water Sphere imagined in the city of Berlin at the fall of the Berlin Wall. Note how the Water Sphere is visible through the cracks of the wall, as if precipitating its downfall. The sun shines on the WTWS from the left. Peace messages predominate as the wall and barbed wire is smashed by the blue beacon.

If you know an artist who has snapped a photo, painted a picture, or otherwise rendered the World’s Tallest Water Sphere in art, please send the contact information to this site (or the editor at beckerdo at io.com).

Many people have treated the World’s Tallest Water Sphere in photography, film, or painting. Today we honor those artists who view the tower and see the magnificence of its form, symbolisim, and vision.

This artwork “World’s Tallest Water Sphere Reclining” was created in the 1990s for a cassette cover by David Wuethrich, resident of Union. We will be featuring his cassette cover art in forthcoming articles on this web site.

If you know an artist who has snapped a photo, painted a picture, or otherwise rendered the World’s Tallest Water Sphere in art, please send the contact information to this site (or the editor at beckerdo at io.com).

For our United States readers, do not forget that a 1 ounce first class postage stamp price will increase to 39 cents on Sunday 2006-01-08.

You can create your own World’s Tallest Water Sphere stamps at Stamps.com. Simply steal one of the beautiful World’s Tallest Water Sphere photos from this site, upload, pay, and you are in water sphere heaven.

Happy New Year to all! This site is happy to bring you the first photos of 2006 of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere.

The author was lucky enough to take a trip to Union on 2005-12-27 and take some photos of the water sphere. More photos to come soon in an upcoming photo essay. In the mean time, here is the Union tower in its nearly white paint scheme. Note the barely visible Union lettering on the left side of the sphere. This was a cold, crisp day, about 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 Celsius) – perfect for viewing and photographing from David Terrace on the edge of Kawameeh Park. Click on the photo for a larger view.

It is well known that this World’s Tallest Water Sphere site has helped millions of readers by providing timely information and photographs of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere.

We recently received another affirmation of this fact from Kristen, the Marketing Directory at the impressively named BrainDex company. She says “Hi, I’m impressed with your professional website related to water towers and water pumps. Since some of your site visitors may be interested in learning more about water towers and water pumps, feel free to link to my site.” “Professional.” Why thank you Kristen! We at WTWS.com realize we are helping people, but did not realize that our site is so impressive to Marketing Directors.

Kristen, BrainDex Marketing Director, also provided me the link “will be the most helpful for your customers:”
Wheat Grinder Contraption. We know WTWS fans like reading about grain mills and wheat grinders, especially at this holiday season, and so we pass this helpful site along to you. Happy Holidays readers! And may the spirit of giving and helpfulness enthuse you to share your grain mill links with all the link-starved people of the world.

One final aerial view of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere looking southwest, courtesy of
Windows Live Local Virtual Earth. Be sure to click on the “bird’s eye” link to see some good up close and personal views.

Using the water sphere as a sun dial, the shadow points west and is mid length. I would say this photo was taken in the morning and is about mid morning, halfway between sunrise and high noon.

Here is the south view of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere, courtesy of
Windows Live Local Virtual Earth. Be sure to click on the “bird’s eye” link to see some good up close and personal views.

Notice the attachment of several rings of cell phone antennas. What a bastardization! An affrontery! Would they attach antennas to the Washington Monument simply because of its height and clear sight lines? No! I wait for the day when these unsightly contraptions are removed from Union’s wonder of the world.

Continuing with the lovely views of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere, here’s another courtesy of
Windows Live Local Virtual Earth. Be sure to click on the “bird’s eye” link to see some good up close and personal views. What is interesting about the bird’s eye views is that each close-up photo tile is slightly time shifted. In other words, one photo may show the tower with a certain shadow length and cars, and when you pan to another tile you see a different shadow length and set of cars.

This particular photo shows the barely visible Union imprint on the sphere, the “World’s Tallest Water Sphere” bill board at the base, and part of the Kawameeh swamp at the right. The tricky connector road ramps from the New Jersey Parkway to Morris Avenue Route 82 are at the upper left. The white silo at the lower right is a borazon drill that deliver’s fresh Union water to the other side of the globe thus sharing Elizabethtown goodness with the people of other nations.

Here is a recent bird’s eye view of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere courtesy of
Windows Live Local Virtual Earth. Be sure to click on the “bird’s eye” link to see some good up close and personal views.

This particular photo shows the light blue/off white paint scheme of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere and the array of cell phone antennas bringing communications to the good people of the vicinity. At the base of the tower is a bill board announcing the joy of the tower to the world. The buildings around the base likely are the missle defense system used to protect the World’s Tallest Water Sphere, and the large pad in the lower left likely is additional fuel used to launch the water sphere into lower earth orbit. Click on the photo for a larger view.

Is Thomas A. Edison connected to the World’s Tallest Water Sphere? Well, as far as I can tell, not directly. However, he did help design some concrete houses that were built by Charles Ingersoll in 1917. These historic houses are well cared-for and sitting nearly at the base of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere on Ingersoll Terrrace in Union. See for yourself. (Zoom in until Ingersoll Terrace is visible next to Route 22 and the Garden State Parkway.)

Thanks to the PBS show History Detectives there is very interesting information on these houses and a very nice (brief) high definition view of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere in it’s nearly white paint circa 2004.

Another memory from Tom Gilleece, Union High Class of 1980:
“I remember playing with my cousin and our friends near the base of the “lollipop” as we sometimes called it. We would imagine it was an alien spaceship ala “War of the Worlds,” or it would be designated home-base (pretty easy to find) in any of our endless games of Manhunt. Sometimes we would light the cattails (punks) and sit around the concrete platform just talking and daydreaming. Simple moments that last a lifetime. “

The following story submitted by Tom Gilleece, Union High School class of 1980:

“Dave M., Tommy D. and I were driving along Route 22 and we saw a huge rig suddenly veer off and crash through the guard rail and plummet into the darkness surrounding the tower. We pulled onto the shoulder and quickly scrambled down to see if we could help. Dave went off to call the police (no cell phones then), and Tommy and I scrounged through the wreckage for signs of life. The driver was clearly dead – he smashed against the dashboard and front windshield. We found his passenger near death in the reeds and skunk cabbage. His neck was broken, and we spoke soothingly as we waited for help to arrive. He never uttered a word.

The next day we read that they were both pronounced dead at University Hospital in Newark. And what did these two young men from California die for? They were delivering grapes. “

Trial defendant’s body found dead in trunk of car at Huck Finn Diner, 2 miles west of WTWS on Morris Avenue (Route 82).

Star Ledger article

If you are a fan of Google Maps sightseeing, then you must surely like our reference in the Google New Jersey category .

Thanks to all for helping to get the World’s Tallest Water Sphere listed, but let’s explain a few things:

• The blue blob at the center of the map is not the WTWS! Look slightly to the north east of the center and you will see the nearly white crown of the WTWS and the unmistakeable shadow of this monolith.
• The large road from southwest to northeast is the Garden State Parkway. Hurrah. Have lots of tokens!
• The large road from northwest to southeast is Morris Avenue, a.k.a. Route 82. Union Center, the intersection with Stuyvesant Avenue is in the upper left quadrant of the map.
• Kawameeh Junior High and the swamps are just south of the center of the map.
• Suburban Golf Course is just south east of the center of the map.
• The big parking lot south east of the center of the map used to be Two Guys Department Store. They sold lots of G.I. Joes and other toys before Toys ‘R Us came along.

If your house is in this map, please give me an email and let’s hear about life in the shadow of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere!