tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89818224003870952582011-12-20T10:24:05.916+11:00Utility covers of the worldThey say when you travel you should look up to see the glorious buildings.
I disagree. Look Down. Look Down, I say, and notice the splendid diversity in gas line access covers, sewage, water and electricity tops, in council accesses to the utilities of the world. It is time to acknowledge those unsung designers who put "Gas" or "Eau" or "MWSD&B" and get no praise!! Here's to a diversity of utility hole covers!!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.comBlogger291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-46744472122912432562011-08-22T12:12:00.000+10:002011-08-22T12:12:53.066+10:00There are other manhole enthusiasts
Newtown NSW, Australia
LA, USA
LA, USA
LA USA
LA usa
LA i think
Chicago, USA
Chicago, USA
Newtown, NSW, Australia
One of my favourites, Newtown NSW Australia
New York, USA - Penalyt for removal!
I read with great pleasure of the Japanese pastime of drainspotting, and this book on the same topic.Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-1968080542898391102011-02-14T10:51:00.000+11:002011-02-14T10:51:34.208+11:00Drainspotting!
Manhole Cover, Cockatoo Island,
Sydney, Australia
I am not alone - other people think manhole covers and drains are cool. In Japan, it turns out, there are heaps of individualised ones, and this book shows photos of them!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-16035631951204306042009-07-23T18:15:00.007+10:002009-07-23T18:31:48.604+10:00Covers from Central AsiaHere are some covers from Kyrgyzstan, Tashkent and other parts Central Asia.Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-32509968752401916802009-07-23T17:21:00.006+10:002009-07-23T18:14:55.610+10:00Vancouver Covers (Vancovers?)Visited Vancouver in April 09.Here are some great covers I collected then!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-41234581162764946032009-07-23T17:10:00.007+10:002009-07-23T17:22:12.789+10:00Diversity in local Sydney manhole covers!Strolling around Enmore I found this beauty: The cover was under water after rain (so it looks quite pretty I think). It is branded for the plumbers in the nearest street (Enmore Road)The yellow painted HP Gas is in Erskineville, and the AV with vestiges of yellow in Newtown.Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-40682004334734373452009-01-06T12:33:00.001+11:002009-01-10T14:35:25.432+11:00Sewage Disposal Hygienic ExpertsSnapped at Frensham girls school in the Southern Highlands.Sewage Disposal Hygienic Experts, indeed!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-6142995476543630602008-10-05T16:35:00.004+11:002008-10-05T16:44:33.021+11:00Covers from ViennaWater and gas from Vienna.Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-48675026813503797482008-10-05T16:32:00.005+11:002008-10-05T16:35:52.210+11:00Utility covers from FlorenceLight and water covers from Florence. Florence was where my interest in utility covers first began.My husband has just returned from Uzbekhistan and parts Silk Road, where he enthused his tour group to find examples.. it's catching!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-36056513036286182242008-08-10T02:42:00.000+10:002008-08-10T02:43:43.473+10:00Water 66 or 99Still in Chicago, another water cover!The variety is unending.Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-66705919535441033062008-07-31T10:20:00.003+10:002008-12-12T19:29:34.421+11:00Covers are worth something!!My friend Francie found this news story: covers people have been pinching covers from Michigan and selling them for scrap!! They cost $200 to install, and get about $20 as scrap!!Here's a different sewer cover from the Lincoln Park Zoo in ChicagoCindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-34467738837883034282008-07-28T10:59:00.004+10:002008-12-12T19:29:34.596+11:00Lincoln ParkA star, no less, on a Lincoln Park (Chicago) coverCindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-72763014023952164262008-07-26T10:36:00.000+10:002008-12-12T19:29:34.756+11:00The right matActually, it turns out this is the cover the mat I saw in the visitor's centre was based on.Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-25722932359137156022008-07-23T13:57:00.003+10:002008-12-12T19:29:35.025+11:00Chicago Sewer MatIn the Chicago visitors centre the other day, they actually were selling a mat in the shape of a Chicago Sewer cover, just like this one. The words Chicago at the top and Sewer at the bottom were just a little clearer than in this photo!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-87826941210837376912008-07-21T09:47:00.005+10:002008-12-12T19:29:35.323+11:00Frank Lloyd Wright's coverFrank Lloyd Wright seems to have been a little of a control freak. I saw Robie House today, one of his 1908 achievements. He designed the windows, furnishings, rooms, doors, carpets, everything. Here is a photo of a ventilation cover on display at the Art Institute of ChicagoCindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-67631794459465630422008-07-21T09:43:00.002+10:002008-12-12T19:29:35.561+11:00Subway GrilleHere's a subway grille with a lovely design. It's near the Chicago public library. Those architects seem to have designed everything here. I'll put up a Frank Lloyd Wright ventilator grill next.Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-17739365213860524532008-07-20T09:47:00.001+10:002008-12-12T19:29:35.735+11:00DottyI like this Chicago cover because of its simplicity - just dots.Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-41568118127938428632008-07-17T05:10:00.000+10:002008-12-12T19:29:36.007+11:00Not a coverThis metal plaque is embedded in the pavement. Names of the architects?Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-57754830457055696682008-07-15T11:16:00.003+10:002008-12-12T19:29:36.332+11:00Utilities of Chicago2 more Chicago covers.Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-42384423054119175892008-07-14T12:37:00.004+10:002008-12-12T19:29:36.437+11:00And it's diverse in Vietnam This one is from Vietnam. Not much different to the western ones!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-13969570340952983462008-07-14T12:32:00.003+10:002008-12-12T19:29:36.707+11:00Chicago gas!i am in chicago today, and i saw this lovely rusty gas cover. check out the names (Bingham, Gardner, Box, Tayl0r); no idea what they mean, but again it's the diversity of these covers which blows me away!and then n the classic gunmetal blue grey, a cww cover (chicago water works maybe?)Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-27213723251112070502008-06-28T22:13:00.000+10:002008-12-12T19:29:37.082+11:00A wealth of optionsIn the 20 metres or so on Martin Place, just outside the MLC centre on Castlereagh St, I found 10 different examples of utility covers. This is my favourite - Metropolitan Water Sewage and Drainage Board (who may not even exist any more) are the "owners".Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-42237417134378190182008-06-28T22:10:00.000+10:002008-12-12T19:29:37.251+11:00Customisation in Martin PlaceWas walking through Martin Place on Friday. They have these customised drain covers!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-74948047971556091432008-06-28T21:43:00.004+10:002008-12-12T19:29:37.452+11:00Water MeterAnd the beautiful water meter cover in Boston (again, thanks to Jamie and Francie!)Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-49270405016576948042008-06-28T21:41:00.003+10:002008-12-12T19:29:37.688+11:00Salem - with a shipAnd here's some sort of commemorative beauty, the City of Salem Sewer, 2004, with a ship on it (why not a witch, you may ask).Have to say thank you to Jamie and Francie who helped me find great utility covers (and maybe caught the bug too!) in Boston and Salem. It got quite dangerous at times, when we were taking photos of covers in the middle of traffic-laden streets!!!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-37117954283548368062008-06-28T21:40:00.002+10:002008-12-12T19:29:37.803+11:00Here's a more arty view of a utility cover outside Tudor City in New York City. It was a wet day!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-42949642866470208272008-06-28T21:39:00.003+10:002008-12-12T19:29:38.018+11:00Made in India 2And here's a Made in India from the City of Los Angeles. Again, the "Made in India" is more prominent than the City of LA - perhaps a proud Indian Utility Cover Designer?Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-15661490027701352622008-06-28T21:37:00.002+10:002008-12-12T19:29:38.431+11:00Made in India?On a recent trip to New York via Los Angeles (you'll only understand that one is on the way to the other if you think that I live in Sydney, Australia!), I discovered these utility covers: NYC Sewer with "Made in India" embossed larger than the words NYC Sewer!Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-57002829802847548382008-06-28T21:03:00.006+10:002008-12-12T19:29:38.973+11:00This is what I'm talking aboutThis is what my first post was talking about:A plain old "Gas" cover, from Boston.Who made this beautiful object?Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981822400387095258.post-36422630561572667812008-06-28T20:39:00.002+10:002008-07-20T10:02:21.096+10:00Man holes and all that jazzI don't remember when I first started to notice them. Perhaps I was taking my brand new digital camera out for a spin, and waiting to cross the road. Maybe it was in Florence, where the utility covers have fleur-de-lys-like icons on them. Or maybe in Sydney, Australia, where I found one marked "Tree" (I entered it into an art show, with the title "This is not a tree", but they didn't think it Cindy Tonkinhttps://profiles.google.com/107095330751903812742noreply@blogger.com0