Water Works

The two UC Davis water towers offer perfect photo ops.

  • by Jocelyn C Anderson

A popular symbol of UC Davis is the water tower — as seen by many locations on campus and Interstate 80. Actually Davis has three water towers, with two of them located on campus. Both are considered Instagram-worthy locations on campus, and from the photos below, you can see why.

UC Davis water tower with moon
A gibbous moon rises over the water tower by the dairy. (March 2021) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
UC Davis water tower shown with a backdrop of red clouds and birds flying around it, during sunset.
The remnants of sunset color the clouds pink as the dark blues of the night fill in the background of the sky. (March 2021) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
UC Davis water tower is barely visible through fog. Leafless tree branches are across the foreground.
The white of this water tower — officially Domestic Water Tower No. 1 — gets lost in a shroud of fog. (January 2020) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
The UC Davis water tower appears behind a full stadium of fans and a Unitrans london bus.
The Homecoming game between UC Davis and Idaho State hits a fever pitch as students cheer Oct. 13, 2018. This water tower — nicknamed Touchdown Tower for its proximity to UC Davis Health Stadium — is officially known as Utility Tower No. 1. (Photo by Gregory Urquiaga)
Night photo of a water tower on a cloudy night, with blurred dark birds swirling around it.
During sunset, crows flock to the trees on Hutchison Drive, swirling around the water tower by the dairy. (March 2021) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
A UC Davis water tower shows through a small opening in red tree leaves.
The trees turn red with autumnal color, looking redder next to the white of this water tower. (November 2019) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
Composite photo of the stars in the night sky revolving near the top of a UC Davis water tower.
The night sky swirls around the water tower by the Mondavi Center in a time-lapse image. (May 2021) Composite photo by Dawson Diaz
Silhouette of a UC Davis water tower against the sun and an orange sky. A red lens flare surrounds the tower.
Fires started by lightning choke the air with smoke, turning the sky orange, on August 20, 2020. Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
A mother and ducklings ripple the reflection of one of the water towers are they swim along the arboretum waterway.
Ducklings swim over the water tower's reflection on the Arboretum waterway. (July 2017) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
Night photo of a UC Davis water tower. Just to the left of the tower, a comet can be seen like a bright star, with a tail shining upwards from it.
The comet NEOWISE passes by the UC Davis water tower July 10, 2020. The image was captured at 4:30 a.m., from a grassy area between Schaal Aquatic Center and UC Davis Health Stadium, using a Nikon Z7 with a 200-400mm lens at 400mm, on a tripod, exposure time 8 seconds. Photo by Wayne Tilcock
A team of draft horses pulls a large red wagon past one of the UC Davis water towers. Two men in green outfits drive the wagon.
Drivers lead the Budweiser Clydesdales by the water tower by the dairy Dec. 6, 2017.  The eight-horse team pulled the cart, drivers and dog for a two-hour tour of Davis. Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
Night photo of one of the UC Davis water towers. It stands behind the dairy barn, where cows are lined up at the fence. A lighted sign can be seen hanging across.
The Dairy Teaching and Research Facility, which is almost under one of the towers, displays a “Moo-y Christmas” sign for a little holiday cheer. (December 2018) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
Students in cold-weather clothes walk over a curved bridge in front of a UC Davis water tower.
Two students cross over a bridge in the Arboretum. (November 2016) Photo by Karin Higgins
Large clouds dwarf one of the UC Davis water towers.
Voluminous clouds churn in the sky behind the water tower by the dairy. (April 2017) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
A water tower appears in a large reflection in water.
The water tower by the Mondavi Center is reflected in ripples in the Arboretum’s waters. (October 2011) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
Aerial photo of a UC Davis water tower surrounded by campus. The sky is blue and gold at sunrise.
A drone gets the viewpoint rarely seen of the water tower by the dairy — and campus — on Feb. 3, 2021. Photo by Alysha Beck
A UC Davis water tower peeks above a set of solar panels.
The water tower near the Mondavi Center looks over solar panels. (January 2020) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga
Photo looking out of a window to a UC Davis water tower. The window frames and a student are silhouetted against the blue sky, trees and tower outside.
The Arboretum water tower is seen from the student lounge of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. (September 2013) Photo by Gregory Urquiaga

Primary Category

UC Davis Magazine

Tags

Culture Feature