In 1871, when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over the lantern in her barn A or was framed for the act, depend­ing on who you ask the Goth­ic Revival spires of Water Tow­er were only two years old. Today, along with the Pump­ing Sta­tion on the oth­er side of the street, the Water Tow­er is the last, dream-like sym­bol of the Old Chica­go that dis­ap­peared in the Fire. Sur­round­ed by hotels and colos­sal depart­ment stores, it’s also ”the” icon of the new city that arose. At night, the Water Tow­er is lit from with­in, and it’s a mem­o­rable sight. Inside, the vin­tage machin­ery is long gone (along with the water), and the plain inte­ri­or is occa­sion­al­ly used as a gallery space.