NYC Water Towers

I went to New York City a few days ago, but was limited to two hours. I wanted to take pictures but was feeling uninspired and under the gun, so I took pictures of water towers. Pictures like this:

Fig. 1: Old school

I love water towers. They're old-fashioned and largely obsolete (I think there's still one business in Brooklyn that still makes them) but they don't take up much precious real estate and they're a good back-up in case of emergency, so I guess they get to stay. Thanks to that, it's possible that water towers will outlast all of us.

Fig. 2: New school

Actually, I don't know anything about New York water towers. Until that steam pipe burst a couple of months ago, I didn't even know New York City still had steam pipes. I mean, I knew all along that New York City had water towers (just look up, there they are) but as to what they're used for, or even if they're still used ... well, your guess is as good as mine.