Water Tower, a translucent resin cast of the interior of a 12-foot tall by 9-foot wide wooden water tank by Rachel Whiteread (b. 1963, London, England) was raised 7 stories to rest upon the steel tower frame of a SoHo rooftop. Water Tower is visible from street level at the corner of West Broadway and Grand Street. Situated near two functioning water tanks, it was described by the artist as a “jewel in the Manhattan skyline.” On a cloudy day, the weathered surface of the original tank’s interior is visible, providing a ghostly form. In bright sunlight the translucent resin becomes a beacon of refracted light; at night the unlit sculpture disappears against the darkened sky. Poetic yet incongruous, Whiteread’s Water Tower powerfully represents a need for public sculpture to be physically present yet ephemeral.

Water Tower is now in the permanent collection of the The Museum of Modern Art, New York.