water tower wednesday

i have taken many photos

 of 

this particular water tower

 tuesday morning

 amid 

the 

overcast gloom

 eventual rain

 yes

 i got wet 

walking

 from chambers street to the office

 because

 hello 

it wasn't supposed

 to

 rain

 till later in the day

so 

right

 no umbrella 

anyway 

before all 

that 

i snapped 

this 

cropped it 

so you could see

 the lovely old facade 

of

 what was once 

a grand hotel 

commissioned by 

Albert Saxe 

designed by

Emery Roth 

in 1903 

it was said to be one of the flashiest hotels

 on 

the upper west side 

once referred to as a skyscraper 

it was considered

 one of the most luxurious buildings

 in the city

  Roth

 combined

 beaux arts principles 

with

 art nouveau-secessionist style

 before it was renovated in the mid-2000s 

it stood empty for a long time 

after a midlife crisis 

as an apartment building

 i knew someone who lived there in the 1970s

according to the new owners

 past famous guests included

 Maxim Gorky, Mark Twain and Babe Ruth

 i assume not all at the same time