Rosenwach Wood Tanks – ‘On the Skyline of New York’ -

I loved the design on this truck supplying parts for Rosenwach Wood Tanks in New York.

Now the last company making water tanks in New York City, Rosenwach have been in business since 1865, and still mill their own wood and manufacture their own brass pipes.

Business Insider explains why the tanks are still around:

The wooden tanks on top of buildings all over the city are a quirk of New York’s infrastructure. Wooden water tanks were vital in the early twentieth century, as the city grew skyward.

They’re the way many of the city’s older buildings get their water supply, and have enough water stored to feed the sprinklers if there’s a fire.

They use wood because just three inches of wood insulate the tank as well as 24 inches of concrete would.

Read more – and see photos of a tower being constructed – in Business Insider.

Some Brookyln water towers: