Powell & Doyle Street Water Tower

The metal water tower here at the corner of Powell and Doyle streets might be considered a “landmark” within the city as Emeryville’s only standing water tower.

The 50,000 gallon steel frame tank stands 65 feet high and was originally built for the Pacific Manifolding Book Company. The steel tank has a capacity of 50,000 gallons and when filled, weighs an estimated 200 tons.

Originally founded in 1882, the Pacific Manifolding Book Company became Moore Business Forms around 1945. Moore sold books of sales slips with flip-over carbon paper. They went on to become a major supplier of business forms and printing services throughout North America.

Pacific Manifolding had previously had water towers constructed on their properties, but these were wood framed. Part of the purpose of these towers was to provide fire protection, especially after the 1906 quake when so much of San Francisco was ravaged by fire. The infrastructure was simply not in place for fire departments to fight massive fires in the aftermath of major catastrophes like this.

Consequently, fire insurance was expensive and often prohibitive. Having a dedicated water tower was an asset that could ensure a company’s survival in the event of a disaster.

The tower is of course no longer filled with water nor serves its original purpose of helping extinguishing fires. In recent decades, it’s been used to advertise whatever company resided on the property.

Moore also used the surrounding lot for their trucking division who delivered their forms to customers. They shut their trucking division down in 1982.

Property records indicate the adjacent building at 1255 Powell was built in 1983. Since, the building has been occupied by a series of legal firms including Becherer, Kannett & Schweitzer and Brown & Caldwell (an engineering and construction firm that helps clients overcome environmental challenges).

In the mid to late 1990s. It was used by the Sierra Designs outdoor sportswear brand who adorned the tower with their logo.

As of 2024, this building has been occupied by the legal firm Gibson, Robb & Lindh LLP.

Recent use of the water tower has been relegated to a structure for mounting cellular antennas and boosters.

Water Towers in many cities have been preserved as directional beacons and incorporated into their identity (Campbell in the South Bay is one local example).

Former Planning Commissioner Brad Gunkel publicly pitched adorning the tower with “Emeryville” in 2014 but this failed to gain traction with any leaders at the time.

Additional history regarding the Pacific Manifolding Book Company will be explained on the next stop of this tour.