Water towers grace the skyline at Broadway and 110th Street.
PHOTO: Michael Axley

he Manhattan skyline is known throughout the world. The Chrysler building, the Empire State Building, the twin towers of the World Trade Center, all are unmistakable.

True, the skyline is remarkable for the giant skyscrapers, the famous landmarks and the co-ops for the wealthy. But on top of every high-reaching building, tucked into every New York photograph, is a stubby souvenir of the old metropolis—the water tower.

In the early part of the 20th century, water towers were a defining symbol of New York. European photographers and artists seeking a more intimate glimpse of the city's structure focused on the sturdy and functional water tank as a symbol of New York’s urban vision.

More recently, rumor has it that when the film director, Francis Ford Coppola, shot "The Godfather II" on East 6th Street, he had stagehands build a fake water tower on top of a local tenement to give it a more realistic NYC appearance.

A snow-topped tower at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. PHOTO: Michael Axley

Ubiquitous and yet solitary, the water tower can be found on most prewar buildings taller than seven stories.

Most are made of wood--California redwood or white and yellow cedar. They are usually unpainted. Tending toward a light tan when first raised, they weather to gray over the years.Many are left exposed, disguised by familiarity. Others, in typically post-modern fashion, are enclosed behind detailed "tank houses."

Today, modern plumbing allows most new buildings to be constructed without a water tower. However, the new hydraulic technology has not been installed in many of city's older buildings. As a result, obsolete or not, the simple, elegant water tower is here to stay.

ON THE COVER: A rooftop view of water towers and tenements in Lower Manhattan.
PHOTO: Tamara Melck