A childhood belief about water towers

When I was much younger, we were driving in upstate New York and my father pointed out the window and told me he used to live over in that direction. I though he was pointing at the water tower, and since I didn't know what it was, I wondered what it must have been like to live in a house that was so high up. It had a balcony, though, so it must have been nice.
He corrected me, though.