#Tower September 7

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September 2026 several of us are going to take on the 30-Day Architectural Coach4aday Challenge each day, we will define an architectural term and provide examples of where it is located. This challenge will let observation, travel, history, and photography all intersect. For Day 7 is TOWER.

Of all the places I’ve visited, I never would have guessed that Iowa would be home to two memorable towers. The first was the Julien Dubuque Monument overlooking the Mississippi River in Dubuque. The second was Clark Tower in Winterset, perched on top of a hill and reached by a one-lane dirt road a mile long winding through a city park.

In architectural terms, a tower is a tall, vertically proportioned structure that rises substantially above its surroundings and is designed as a distinct architectural element.

30-Day Architectural Challenge Guidelines

If you have ever watched Seinfeld, you know that George Constanza always wanted to pretend to be an architect.

Well, this month’s challenge let’s all of us that are not architects learn a little more about their language. To do that we have a simple challenge.

Every day we’ll learn one architectural term. Your challenge is to find an example—preferably one you’ve actually seen—and share a photograph, location and brief explanation.

Day 7-Tower

It might be easy to confuse a tower with a turret, but the two are different architectural features. A tower is generally a substantial vertical structure in its own right, while a turret is typically a smaller tower that projects from a larger building.

A tower can be:

• Freestanding — such as the Julien Dubuque Monument in Dubuque.
• Attached to a larger building — such as a church bell tower or castle tower.
• Functional — providing defense, observation, water storage, a bell, or another practical purpose.
• Decorative or commemorative — built primarily to create a landmark or architectural focal point.