Street Steam

One of the signature visual symbols of New York City is the mysterious Con Ed steam stacks. Actually, they're not really that mysterious ... two seconds on Google tells you that they are just venting excess and leaking steam from the city's steam power system. But it seems mysterious, especially at night, these 12 foot towers places seemingly randomly in the city streets, continuously spewing clouds of steam. I've never noticed these in other cities - maybe they're everywhere - but like rooftop water tanks, yellow cabs, and hot dog carts, they are iconic symbols of the Manhattan landscape. This one was down on the Lower East Side, on Allen below Houston.