From the City of Westminster website: (
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A prominent visual landmark at 110th and Federal Boulevard is the circa 1925 Savery Savory Mushroom Farm Water Tower, the only intact remnant of what was originally an extensive collection of buildings, structures and other features that made up the corporate agricultural facility owned and operated by Colorado's "mushroom magnate," Charles William Savery, from 1923 through 1953. The tower is owned and maintained by the City of Westminster, but the site around the tower is a park owned and maintained by the Savory Farm subdivision. Visitors to the site should observe rules posted by the homeowners association and be mindful of the residential location of the tower.
From the COLORADO STATE REGISTER OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES NOMINATION FORM: (
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With Colorado’s dry environment, one of the key elements in growing mushrooms, establishing a canning plant, and supporting the labor required for the process, was the location of a good water source. While irrigation ditches ran through the area, they did not provide a reliable year-round source of water. Drilling on the site, however, found that it was underlain by an excellent artesian aquifer with high-quality water. The water was pumped from the ground into an elevated tank along Federal Boulevard, strategically located at a high spot on the property. From there it was distributed through gravity to the numerous mushroom growing and canning buildings, along with providing domestic supply for the residences on the property. In addition, the tower supplied water for fire-fighting purposes at the farm.
Presenting a wonderful advertising opportunity, Savery eventually had the water tank at the top of the tower painted to look like one of his mushroom cans. With its green background, the tank displayed a circular central logo of mushrooms with the words “Savery Savory Mushrooms” painted in yellow above and below. At some point during the 1930s or 1940s, the conical roof on the tank was replaced with a flat one and the lettering and logo on the tank were enhanced with the addition of shaped neon lighting that lit up the sign at night, providing area travelers and residents with a prominent 24-hour landmark.