Mackay Estate Water Tower is a historic water tower

Water tower

A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....

 located at East Hills

East Hills, New York

East Hills is a village in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. It is considered part of the Greater Roslyn area, which is anchored by the Village of Roslyn...

 in Nassau County, New York

Nassau County, New York

Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...

. The tower is a utilitarian structure manufactured by the Phillipsburg, New Jersey

Phillipsburg, New Jersey

Phillipsburg, known locally as P'burg, is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950....

 firm of Tippett and Wood. The tank is round in plan and topped by a bell-shaped slate

Slate

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...

 roof and copper cupola

Cupola

In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....

. The tank stands on eight legs, each of which is 34 feet tall. The water tower and tank are concealed inside a tall structure designed by Stanford White

Stanford White

Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...

 that is constructed of stone, laid in random ashlar

Ashlar

Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...

, and the roof is spanned by a Guastavino tile

Guastavino tile

Guastavino tile is the "Tile Arch System" patented in the US in 1885 by Valencian architect and builder Rafael Guastavino...

 dome. The tower was originally a component of Clarence Mackay

Clarence Mackay

Clarence Hungerford Mackay was an American financier, believed to inherit most of a $500 million estate in 1902. In 1926, his daughter Ellin married Irving Berlin against her father's wishes and he disinherited her....

's Harbor Hill Estate

Harbor Hill

Harbor Hill was a spectacular Long Island mansion built from 1899-1902 in Roslyn, New York, commissioned by Clarence Hungerford Mackay. It was designed by McKim, Mead, and White, with Stanford White supervising the project...

.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1991. It is one of three remaining buildings listed at that time; the others are the Mackay Estate Dairyman's Cottage

Mackay Estate Dairyman's Cottage

Mackay Estate Dairyman's Cottage is a historic home located at East Hills in Nassau County, New York, USA, designed about 1902 by noted architects Warren and Wetmore in an eclectic style. It is a -story frame house with a brick first floor set on a rubble base...

 and Mackay Estate Gate Lodge

Mackay Estate Gate Lodge

Mackay Estate Gate Lodge is a historic gatehouse located at East Hills in Nassau County, New York. It was designed in 1899 and built in 1900 - 1902 by noted architect Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White in the French Baroque style. It is a small but imposing stone building with a central...

.