The pump station here and tower [containing a water tank elevated to provide pressure] to the left [west] were among the few structures in the city to survive the Great Fire of October 1871. Commenting upon the architecture during a visit in the 1880s, Oscar Wilde opined: "It is a castleated monstrosity with little salt and pepper shakers stacked on top." At this time, the beach was located within a few hundred feet of Michigan Avenue and water was acquired via a wooden pipe tht extended over the beach into the lake.