The Offerman Water Tank

I came across two listings in the Real Estate Record which state that Atlas Iron built a water tank for the Offerman Building in Brooklyn, around the time of its completion in 1893.

This tank intrigued me.  The building was commissioned and owned by Henry Offerman.  At first it was referred to as the Wechsler Building, because it housed clothiers S. Wechsler and Brother (who later moved to one of the storefronts at 532-540 Fulton St.).  The building still stands at 503-513 Fulton Street, and it still has a large water tank on its roof.  As always, I wanted to know more.  I also wondered - knowing this was highly unlikely - whether the current tank could possibly be the same one that Atlas Iron put in place.

After searching for as many details and photos as I could, and then visiting the building to see the tank in person, I'm convinced that it can't be the same one.  However, it seems that a tank of similar size has always been in that spot on the roof.  A photo from 1930 and a photo from 1941 both show tanks which match the one standing there today.  A tax map from around 2003 actually shows two tanks, one in that spot marked "20,000 gal" while the other was a smaller tank at the center of the building's Duffield Street facade (since removed).  I'm inclined to think that the larger tank is the one which Atlas Iron built, but I can't even be sure of that.

While researching this, I learned that there are only three companies in the city which work on water tanks today.  Most are made of wood, but steel is occasionally used (and is then encased in wood to help keep the tank cool).  I contacted all three companies to see if they had any records of working on this tank, and only one responded to say that they didn't.

In the end, this tank interested me because it was something new and different from the other things that I've been researching. 


Side note: I've recently added a few more details to some of my other posts about Atlas Iron's projects.  Check for my additions as comments on the Morris Building, 532-540 Fulton St. and the Brooklyn Post Office Annex.


Sources:
Real Estate Record and Builder's Guide, 31 Dec 1892, p894; 4 March 1893, p348.
Landmarks Preservation Commission designation listing for the Offerman Building.
"The Other Downtown", New York Times, 22 Nov 2013.