Jones Beach State Park is a state park in New York. It is located in southern Nassau County, in the hamlet of Wantagh, on Jones Beach Island. You can spot this famous 231-foot structure from miles away. Affectionately referred to as “the pencil,” this tower was modeled after the campanile of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. Despite its name, many Long Islanders don’t know that this water tower stores a steel cylinder that supplies 300,000 gallons of fresh water to facilities throughout the park, including all of the beach’s swimming pools, restrooms, water fountains and the U.S. Coast Guard station. Since it was erected in 1930, the tower has been off limits to the public.