From balusters to bench

The bench shown in the photo at right is a new addition to Louisville Water Tower Park.

Well, it’s new as a bench. It’s made from reclaimed limestone balusters taken from a bridge that went out to Pumping Station No. 3.

The Pumping Station underwent a thorough restoration and renovation in 2019, just in time for its 100th birthday. Megan Jones, Event Operations Supervisor at the park, came up with the to reuse the limestone.

“When I first saw the balusters coming down, I knew that we needed to do something with them,” Jones said. “It wasn’t until I saw that a top had been saved that I came up with the idea to have a bench made.”

She worked with Louisville Water Project Engineer Larry Archer to salvage the historic architectural pieces. The bench sits in the shade of a small grove of trees in a grassy area beside the original Pumping Station and provides a quiet view of the Ohio River.