2016 - New York City - Water Towers
These potable water supply towers were visible from the High Line Park walkway.
Water towers are the crest of the New York skyline like rustic, weathered sentinels. Their design has changed little in more than a century, and though they resemble a relic from a forgotten time, wooden water tanks remain a fixture of the cityscape.
And more are being built every day, because the tanks endure as a vital part of the water-supply system for many of the city’s buildings. New York is the only large American city where these structures are common; elsewhere, their numbers are dwindling.
Two companies build water towers in New York — Isseks Brothers and the Rosenwach Tank Company — and both have been in operation for well over a century. Scott Hochhauser, vice president of Isseks Brothers, estimates that his company alone has built tens of thousands of tanks over the years and says his work crews build one to five a week, and repair and service many times that number.
Modern tankmen build in materials other than wood, but they don’t rave about it. Steel tanks cost up to four times as much and must be properly maintained to avoid rusting. Wood insulates better than many other materials, keeping water cool in summer and preventing freezing in winter. And wooden tanks are visually interesting.
According to Kathleen Hulser, a historian with the New-York Historical Society, indoor plumbing began replacing well-drawn water in the 1840s. During those years, natural water pressure could supply all of the city’s buildings. Tanks began sprouting up in the city about 50 years later, at the same time as the tall buildings themselves, a symptom of the growth that followed the Civil War. Rooftop tanks were used because local water pressure was too weak to raise water to the upper stories; instead, buildings over six stories use a pump to fill tanks, after which gravity goes to work. This remains the case.
Fed from the pipes below the city streets, rooftop tanks store 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of water until it is needed in the building below. The upper portion of water is skimmed off the top for everyday use; the water in the bottom of the tank is held in reserve to fight fire. When the water drops below a certain level, a pump is triggered and the tank is refilled.
Source: The New York Times - 03 June 2007.
2016 - New York City - Water Towers
These potable water supply towers were visible from the High Line Park walkway.
Water towers are the crest of the New York skyline like rustic, weathered sentinels. Their design has changed little in more than a century, and though they resemble a relic from a forgotten time, wooden water tanks remain a fixture of the cityscape.
And more are being built every day, because the tanks endure as a vital part of the water-supply system for many of the city’s buildings. New York is the only large American city where these structures are common; elsewhere, their numbers are dwindling.
Two companies build water towers in New York — Isseks Brothers and the Rosenwach Tank Company — and both have been in operation for well over a century. Scott Hochhauser, vice president of Isseks Brothers, estimates that his company alone has built tens of thousands of tanks over the years and says his work crews build one to five a week, and repair and service many times that number.
Modern tankmen build in materials other than wood, but they don’t rave about it. Steel tanks cost up to four times as much and must be properly maintained to avoid rusting. Wood insulates better than many other materials, keeping water cool in summer and preventing freezing in winter. And wooden tanks are visually interesting.
According to Kathleen Hulser, a historian with the New-York Historical Society, indoor plumbing began replacing well-drawn water in the 1840s. During those years, natural water pressure could supply all of the city’s buildings. Tanks began sprouting up in the city about 50 years later, at the same time as the tall buildings themselves, a symptom of the growth that followed the Civil War. Rooftop tanks were used because local water pressure was too weak to raise water to the upper stories; instead, buildings over six stories use a pump to fill tanks, after which gravity goes to work. This remains the case.
Fed from the pipes below the city streets, rooftop tanks store 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of water until it is needed in the building below. The upper portion of water is skimmed off the top for everyday use; the water in the bottom of the tank is held in reserve to fight fire. When the water drops below a certain level, a pump is triggered and the tank is refilled.
Source: The New York Times - 03 June 2007.