Located in a circular park, this monumental cylindrical storage reservoir commands a panoramic view of the Boston Basin. Arlington joined Greater Boston's metropolitan water system in 1898. According to local tradition, the granddaughters of Nathan Robbins, one of the town's most prominent residents, persuaded James Bailey, the Metropolitan District Commissioner (MDC) and a local resident, to build a landmark standpipe reminiscent of temples they had visited in the Greek islands. Constructed under the direction of MDC chief engineer William Foss, the Indiana limestone shell surrounding the storage reservoir's 1,995,000-gallon steel tank stands eighty feet high and is ninety-three feet across. A row of twenty-four limestone columns carries the upper cornice and a reinforced concrete dome roof.