What is it?

I saw this the other day and took a picture. I was going to ask if you knew where it is, but before you can answer that you probably need to figure out what it is?

So what is it, and if you can figure that out, where is it?

Update: Yes, it is a skylight. I would not have guessed that if I had not taken the picture.

Skylights were pretty common in the old downtown buildings--it was a way to provide light to the interior hallways of the second floor. Some of them have since been removed (they are prone to leakage and they are not as needed now that electric lights provide lighting). This one is in the second floor of the old Murray Department Store, which was also the old Harvey's and the old Schultz's. A great many offices have been on second over the years--the reason that there are so many second floors is that when the buildings were built, there was a demand for that space. Until about ten years ago Frank Fischer and Wayne Erickson had offices up there, and had had them for many years. Currently another photographer, Attitude Studios, and Birthright of Rensselaer are the only offices on the second floor.