{"id":338177,"date":"2026-09-04T16:54:48","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/338177\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T16:54:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:54:48","slug":"brooklyn-bridge-parks-iconic-water-tower-sculpture-removed-for-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/338177\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Bridge Park’s iconic water tower sculpture removed for restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Photos by Matthew Pugliese<\/p>\n

The colorful water tower sculpture in Brooklyn Bridge Park has been removed. But don\u2019t worry, it will return next year. Designed by Tom Fruin<\/a> and installed 12 years ago, the Plexiglas and steel artwork on top of the park\u2019s administrative building at 334 Furman Street was dismantled and taken down on Tuesday ahead of a renovation of the building. Like the building, the sculpture, which honors NYC\u2019s water towers<\/a>, will also be restored, as first reported by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle<\/a>. \u201cWatertower 3: R.V. Ingersoll<\/a>\u201d will be repaired and rehabilitated after more than a decade of exposure to sun, snow, and rain and reinstalled in the fall of 2027.<\/p>\n

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The artwork is visible from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and has become a familiar fixture of the borough\u2019s waterfront since its installation in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatertower 3: R.V. Ingersoll\u201d is the sixth work of Fruin\u2019s plexiglass-and-steel \u201cICON\u201d series, which uses scavenged, reclaimed, and recycled materials to create \u201csculptural tributes\u201d honoring architectural icons around the world, the Daily Eagle reported.<\/p>\n

Fruin created \u201cWatertower 3\u201d from roughly 1,000 scraps of acrylic from Evonik Industries, a producer of Acrylite acrylic sheets. Other elements include transparent acrylic scraps sourced from Chinatown sign shops. The structure also features interior and exterior access ladders and an operable roof hatch.<\/p>\n

During the day, sunlight passes through the stained glass, illuminating its colorful panels and powering its solar energy system. At night, the piece is illuminated with light sequences that run from dusk until dawn, highlighting Fruin\u2019s use of sustainable and recycled materials.<\/p>\n

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However, when the artwork\u2019s lighting went dark in the weeks before its removal, Fruin reached out to the building\u2019s owners to find out what was happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I noticed the light was out a month ago, I contacted the building to look into it, and they informed me that the building was undergoing an extensive top-to-bottom renovation, including reworking the roof,\u201d Fruin told 6sqft in an email.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a perfect opportunity to remove the artwork to inspect it and have it repowder-coated and cleaned so that it would last for many more years,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The ICON series began in Copenhagen in 2010 with the installation of \u201cKolonihavehus,\u201d inspired by the Scandinavian city\u2019s signature garden sheds, which were designed to provide refuge for state workers from cramped living conditions in the city, according to Fruin\u2019s website<\/a>. In 2012, the first \u201cWatertower\u201d sculpture was installed atop 20 Jay Street in Dumbo. <\/p>\n

For now, New Yorkers will have to wait a bit longer for the sparkling water tower to return. The renovation of 334 Furman Street<\/a> will transform the building with updated offices and an expanded Education Center. The sculpture is expected to be reinstalled in fall 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Watertower 3: R.V. Ingersoll\u2019 has been such a beloved part of the park for the past 12 years, and we\u2019re excited to give it some much-needed TLC,\u201d BBP President Eric Landau said in a statement to the Daily Eagle.<\/p>\n

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