Top five New York icons

1 Yellow cabs
Their shape has changed, from boxy to Bullitt style, then to oval and back to boxy (the new hybrids). But it’s the color that puts them at no.1: that famous yellow was chosen because it’s easy to spot (so said a survey at the University of Chicago more than 100 years ago), and even today, the blazing sheen articulates our urgent need for a ride right now. There are some potholes—the new Checker-cab decals look graffitied on, but taxis are best viewed from a high building anyway, where you can see them pulsing through the city like little yellow blood cells.

2 The Pepsi sign
With the continuing chain-storification of New York, it’s reassuring to see that a symbol of Megacorp America can enhance the cityscape. Maybe years from now Starbucks and Duane Reade will represent a ye-olde-style quaintness that residents fight to save. Or not. But this 71-year-old Long Island City landmark is still paradoxically antique and modern—and awesome. View it from 45th Street and the East River, or for a close-up, take the 7 train to Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue.

3 Wonder Wheel
This 150-foot-tall Coney Island staple has been thrilling (and boring) riders for 87 years. Its Americana color scheme is the stuff of some idyllic carnival in the Midwest, but its neon-lit whirl at nightfall is distinctly New York. So iconic is the creaky old girl, Japan built a full-size replica of it in 1964.

4 Katz’s Delicatessen
Although there have been rumors it may be pushed out by condos, for now, at least, Katz’s is still dishing up incomparable pastrami on rye. In business since 1888 and last renovated ages ago (hence the World War II flair), this is the ultimate deli: brushed chrome, neon signage and a glass front filled with ceiling-scraping sandwiches. Hats off to any joint where prime ministers and drunks can feast in harmony.

5 Water towers
New York: city of industry, built of steel, forever changing—with an H2O supply pumped by tiny wooden silos that belong on a farm. The water towers (there are some 10,000 citywide, many of which date back to the 19th century) add an elegant, rustic touch to the cityscape. Depending on the sunlight, they can look straight out of the Dust Bowl or from a scene from Moulin Rouge!