Medical Malpractice

Why do all old mental asylums have big tall scary water towers?

It seems to be a mental hospital "trait". I just don't see why all these hospitals needed such big scary towers. They scare me.

Public Comments

1. Usually because mental hospitals are built out in the countryside away from cities for the safety of the public, the patients and because people don't want to live near them. This means that they very often don't have access to a municipal water supply, or their isolated location makes it difficult to get water up to a high enough pressure to be used for showers and other things. Thus, these establishments often require water towers to store water and/or to use the pressure created by the water descending the tower to run the heating or washing facilities.