Historic Raleigh water tower is home to new escape room

The Secret of the Tower Keeper room centers on the history of the tower itself and the person who bought it.

The Raleigh Water Tower was built in 1887 and abandoned in 1924, according to the National Park Service. The property was sold in 1938 to Raleigh architect William Henley Deitrick, who converted the aging tower into his architectural offices.

The 85-foot tower and its accompanying office building was deeded to the North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1963. The space was renovated in the 1990s and remained the AIA headquarters until 2010 when the first of two law firms took over the space. They utilized the offices but the tower itself remained dormant.

Co-owner Valerii Titushyn said the water tower was their top pick when scouting for locations for the escape room concept. The building's rich history helped add fodder for the company's three escape room concepts, all created to take advantage of the space.

Bootlegger's Den takes players back to the time of prohibition with teams searching for a secret stash and trying to elude the authorities.

The Castle of Loches (one of the most challenging rooms at Tower Escapes) takes guests to a crime scene, where they have to investigate the a suspicious death and solve the crime.

Out and About tried out The Secret of the Tower Keeper room last week. Our six-person team finished with time still left on the clock. While the game was challenging, we were able to avoid asking for clues. The clues were not easy but weren't ridiculously hard either. Being inside the tower was a really fun experience, and you could feel the history of the space.