The museum is located in the building of a former water tower, which is already 119 years old. During the 1990 earthquake the building was badly damaged and was closed for ten years. In 2000 the museum resumed its work, but only two years later it was closed again for reconstruction. Its recent opening was timed to coincide with the celebration of Chișinău City Day. Chișinău City History Museum
At the moment the museum has one temporary exhibition, dedicated to the water supply of Chișinău. In the future, it is planned to open a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the capital.
The water tower was built in 1892. The building was designed by the famous architect Bernardazzi.
As the museum of the city of Chișinău, the tower began operating in 1971.
The tower itself laid the foundation for the centralised urban water supply. The top floor is a wooden superstructure. The height of the structure up to the crowning cornice is 22 metres. The load-bearing walls are made of local shell limestone (kotsel), with rows of brickwork inserted. The wall thickness varies from 2 metres at the base to 0.6 m on the upper floors.
Inside the tower a spiral metal staircase has been preserved, and a lift was installed during the reconstruction.
For some time, the headquarters of the History Museum was located in the building of the water tower.
A water tower of the same kind was also built at the intersection of Vasile Alecsandri and Veronica Micle streets, but it has not survived to this day.
