#1 - Get your start:

While there are several ways to begin a walk through Volunteer Park, the most popular entrance is between the wide and gracious pillars at Prospect and 14th Avenue East. At the very entry are two large maples, probably planted in the 1930s. Immediately, one sees the Water Tower. Standing as sentinel to the Park, the Water Tower was built in 1906 and is officially called the Volunteer StandPipe. Its function is to serve the 520' elevation area of Capitol Hill from East Boston to James Street and from 23rd Avenue East to just west of Broadway. The Water Tower, holding 880,000 gallons of water, supplies drinking water and fire-flow water for protection.

The Water Tower is surrounded by yews, larch - gentle yellow trees, spruce, and pine. On the east side there is a Japanese maple planted as a memorial to 21 trees lost in the severe windstorm of 1994. The rock formations around the Water Tower look completely natural but have actually been placed there.