Water Towers

July 14, 2012  •  Leave a Comment

Water towers, those antique-looking wood cylinders that dot the skyline of Manhattan, can provide fascinating visuals for a "Water Towers" by Jay B. Wilson photographer.  After a client purchased a print of this photograph, which I titled simply "Water Towers", she asked if I had any more water tank images available.  I did not, although I'm partial to Gary Heller's work.  Later that afternoon, walking through the Flatiron District, my neck was craned upwards looking for more.  

There are literally tens of thousands of these water tanks in the city.  Any building over six stories tall typically requires some type of water tower to supply its residents.   They work by simple force of gravity, and they aren't as ancient as you might think.  According to this article, while many are indeed old, even new ones (they have to be replaced every 30 years or so) have the same old wooden look, because they are unpainted and untreated so as not to taint the water.

Next year, however, they will get a more artistic treatment - beginning in the spring, The Water Tank Project will wrap 300 New York City water towers in artwork created by minds ranging from Jeff Koons to Jay-Z.

In the meantime, I'll keep looking up. 

 

 


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