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