I came to care for water towers, objects that I had taken for granted in the cityscape, when I saw a large painting of a single water tower by Dorothy Koppelman. The ordinary took on majesty and particularity and I began to notice water towers everywhere I went.

After a business meeting on the 22nd floor of 1250 Broadway at 32nd Street, I was able to walk around the floor, camera in hand, surveying the vistas of midtown. As I rounded a corner I was presented with this scene. In the talk, What of New York and Poetry? Eli Siegel said of New York,

There on the rooftops of many buildings was the most surprising sight: all these water towers! About 28 in number. The taller buildings in the background are neater, more symmetrical, built with concrete, steel and glass, and form a backdrop for the older, lower buildings in the foreground, constructed of brick with many windows, more irregular in spacing. Perched on many of the rooftops, these round cylindrical structures, beautifully illuminated by the sunlight, stand proudly vertical, each with a pointed cap. I was thrilled, I’d never seen so many water towers in one place. How much surprising life goes on above the street level!