David W. Dunlap reports for The New York Times: Promise Made for Harlem Watchtower’s Restoration, but Not in Ink. Manhattan is about to lose its last antebellum watchtower. The watchtower in 1986, left, and this month, right. The parks department is concerned it could collapse if its cast-iron elements continue to deteriorate. Neighbors and preservationists are afraid it will never come back.